She's All That
by marianneee
Summary: Slytherins are nothing if not bloodthirsty competitors, even when it comes to their own housemates. When Draco Malfoy is given an enticing challenge in the form of a bet, he might just find that competition... is a powerful aphrodisiac.DHr chp11up!7.01. c
1. The Bet

Introduction:

Draco Malfoy was one of the most popular kids at Hogwarts. He was known for being able to get any girl he wanted. You'd think he'd be a spoiled, conceited git, well, he was. All of his friends were always jealous of how girls simply swooned over him. He could flash some girl a smirk and she'd do anything he wanted. He always took advantage of that. He was very, very confident in his charms and in his ability to snag any girl who he had his eye on. He believed that by walking up to a girl, smiling, and saying something amiable, she'd be his. Well, now his real opportunity to prove himself had come.

Hermione Granger was not very popular. She was usually pretty quiet but always was very outgoing around her best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. They seemed to bring out the best in her. Hermione had a very nice figure but always hid it beneath her baggy clothes and robes. She would have been very beautiful had she worn clothes that weren't fit for Hagrid and actually tried a bit of makeup. However, she didn't think that looks should matter. She believed that the only thing that mattered was the personality of a person. She had a wonderful personality. She was very kind and compassionate to others, and would do anything within her power to help those who needed it. Although, she did tend to be incredibly bossy. However, she was completely different in school. In school, she was shy and ALWAYS kept to herself. Whenever she wasn't under the protection of Ron and Harry, she was being constantly ridiculed. People would always tell her that she should get a makeover, but she, once again, would say she had better things to do with her time, like studying, and that it definitely shouldn't matter. So she had never even attempted to brush up her looks because in her opinion, it was COMPLETELY unnecessary. She really never worried about looking for a boyfriend because she had her whole life ahead of her and once again, she had better things to do with her time. She couldn't waste precious study time batting her eyelashes and giggling like a madwoman. However, the work of a young man would soon change her opinion of everything.

It was the end of august and it was everyone's 6th year. Dumbledore had announced that there would be an opening ball so the younger years could meet new people, but everyone else was invited, just for the fun of it. This gave some nasty slytherins a brilliant idea...

Draco Malfoy's friends were all huddled together in potions whispering something, and then snickering. Being that they were slytherins, the fact that Draco was one of their best friends didn't matter at all, and they were all plotting against him. "Hey Draco!!" Blaise Zambini called him over.

Draco walked over, sending lucky lady slytherins a wink, and sat next to them.

"What's up?" he asked them.

"Draco...we have a proposition."

Draco raised his eyebrows in interest. "Really, what exactly are you proposing?"

"Well, being that you're the most popular guy in school," Draco smirked, "and you're oh-so confident that you can get any girl, we'd like to make a little bet with you."

Draco, being a Malfoy, was not only over-confident, but could never refuse a bet. "Go on..." Draco urged.

"We'd like to challenge you to gain the trust and affection of Little-Miss Perfect." Draco raised an eyebrow in confusion. He didn't know who they were talking about. And if there actually was a "Little Miss Perfect" surely he'd already been with her.

"Uhhm...who, exactly, are you talking about?" He asked them. He scowled when they laughed at him.

"Ohhh Draco," cooed Pansy, "surely, you know who we're talking about...a certain ...Gryffindor." She said Gryffindor as if it pained her to say the word and then followed her statement with an overly dramatic shudder. Pansy had always been madly in love with Draco, but soon stopped with her obsession when she heard a rumor that Blaise liked her. She then, of course, switched to him. Draco stared at them in confusion but then groaned he realized who they were talking about.

"You can't mean... you wouldn't make me... the _mudblood_?!" '_Well it wouldn't be that bad just to get her to trust me I suppose... but what's the point to this?_'

"Is there a point to this or do you guys just enjoy watching me suffer?"

Blaise smirked cruelly, "Oh, we're not finished. Not only do you have to gain the young mudblood's trust, but you also have to bring her to the dance. Making her love you is also included."

"ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME!?"

"Mr. Malfoy, please, contain yourself." They had been having this conversation in potions, but being that they were slytherins; they didn't get reprimanded for it. However, having Draco scream out in the middle of class minorly crossed the line.

"Sorry professor snape," he mumbled. He then turned back to Blaise and pansy. "That's insane! What is the point to getting her to fall love with me?.. Exactly, there isn't one!"

Blaise smirked at his panicked friend. "Well, you said you can get any girl, but if you can't even get a mudblood Gryffindor, welllll then..."

"OKAY OKAY! I'll do it. But, what do I get if I win? And what happens if I can't do it?"

Pansy smiled cruelly at him, "Well, if you don't, you get to be my boyfriend for the rest of this year," (apparently Draco was wrong in thinking she was over him), "and you have to do whatever Blaise here tells you to. If you win, well, we'll worry about that when you win, which you won't, so that's not really important right now."

Draco glared at her. Pansy's confidence that he would lose just made him angry. He could do it. I mean, come on, he was Draco Malfoy (AN: and we all know how hott he is =P), he could get any girl he wanted!

"Deal," Draco said daringly, extending his hand. He shook Pansy and Blaise's hands and then left for the next class thinking, '_What the hell have I gotten myself into? I have to get Granger to come to the dance with me! And if that's not bad enough, I have to get her to fall in love with me! Ugh, maybe I should back out. But then, I'd have to be Pansy's boyfriend and Blaise's house elf. Well maybe if I_—'"OUCH!" He had bumped into something. He heard a small 'oof' coming from his feet and looked down. '_Perfect.'_

Hermione looked over at the whispering slytherins and rolled her eyes. _'Dumb Slytherins. Dumb Snape. Geez, if Harry, Ron, and I decided to strike up a conversation in the middle of class, he'd tie us down under the Whomping Willow!'_ She heard Draco randomly shout out something and growled under her breath when snape did nothing but tell him to contain himself. She decided to just forget about them. Malfoy was a fag anyways. He didn't deserve her time. Hermione turned her attention back to snape, who after silencing Malfoy, had gone right back into his lecture on the Polyjuice Potion. Hermione, Ron, and Harry already knew everything about that already of course. Hermione smiled lightly as she thought back on second year. '_Ahh, good times_.' She would never have broken school rules for everyone else, but then again, Harry and Ron had always brought out a very rarely seen Hermione; the fun Hermione. Potions class, much to Hermione's relief, ended and she hurriedly left the room heading for her favorite class with her favorite professor, Transfiguration with dear McGonagall. She was nearly out of the dungeons when she stopped dead in her tracks. 'Aw bugger!' She had forgotten her quills on her table in the classroom. She spun around quickly and sprinted back down towards the dungeons. She was nearly there when... "OUCH!" "oof!" She had run into something terribly large. Seemingly a great brick wall. She was knocked over backwards and landed hard on her butt. She looked up and saw that her great brick wall was actually not a great brick wall but a very tall blonde slytherin. He looked down at her and she expected him to say some smart remark and walk off. But no, this time, he looked down and spoke. "Sorry, I should've been watching where I was walking. You ok?" "Umm...yeah...I um ..." She didn't know what was going on. He was being nice! He was definitely up to something. She glared up at him when she thought this but all her thoughts immediately left her when she saw him reach his hand down to her.

She really didn't trust him but she was sprawled out on the ground in a very painful position. She hesitantly took his hand and he pulled her up. At that moment, Professor Snape came out of his classroom with Hermione's quills.

"Ahh Mr. Malfoy, helping a poor Gryffindor. 25 points to slytherin. Well done." He looked at Hermione, who was now smoothing her robes. "Miss Granger, how could you be so clumsy, you could've hurt someone running down the corridors not watching where u were heading, not to mention, being so forgetful," he motioned towards her quills. "25 points from Gryffindor." Hermione had the strongest urge to go up to snape and rip his greasy hair of off his head and stick it all up his large nose. Snape noticed Hermione's death glare and added, "Oh yes, and another 10 points for that last thought Miss Granger," he said, tapping his temple with his finger. He smirked cruelly; he tossed her quills to her, and then went back to his classroom, cloaks billowing behind him. As soon as Snape's cloaks disappeared around a corner, Hermione growled very loudly in his direction and stuck up her middle finger for everyone in the corridor to see. Malfoy, never having seen this side of her, raised his eyebrows in surprise. Hermione still didn't know why Malfoy was being nicer than usual, so she turned to him, gave him a sarcastically sweet smile and headed towards the transfiguration classroom.

Draco had never seen this side of Granger before. She was somewhat, fun. He had always considered her to be a know-it-all bookworm, but here she was flicking off a professor. However, the next time he saw her, she was in the library curled up on a chair with her nose in a book. '_Figures. Back to normal I see_.' He saw Granger glance up at him and then back at her book.

"What do you want Malfoy?" She asked him coolly. "I am rather enjoying myself right now and I don't need a git like you to ruin this for me. Now go away, you're not wanted here." Draco was slightly taken aback by her smart remark but unfortunately he bit back before he could stop himself.

"I'm sorry but I don't take orders from filthy, worthless, mudbloods like you." Hermione wasn't expecting him to say anything and was caught off guard by this. She felt her eyes stinging with tears and before she knew what she was doing she had stood up, walked up to him, and hit him soundly over the head with her book. He stumbled backwards into the table and after regaining his composure glared daggers at her. She gave him a small smirk freakishly similar to his own, put her book back in her bag, and walked out of the library. He watched her leave with his jaw dropped. '_What has gotten into her!? I've only got a month and a half to get her to come to the dance with me and at this rate, by the time of the dance, I'll be lucky if I can get a word in before I lose a limb.'_

Hermione was very happy with the whole library incident. She didn't appreciate his attitude and hopefully by attacking with a book, she'd have gotten her point that she doesn't want anything to do with him across. She was heading to the Great Hall for lunch and was nearly there when she was confronted by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Hey Mudblood. What're you doing roaming these halls all alone. You're just a little girl, and without Potter and Weasley here to protect you...who knows what might happen?" While he was saying this, Goyle had been advancing on her. She was steadily taking steps back and was prepared to turn and run but, unfortunately, Goyle had strategically lead her under a staircase and she was now in the shadows of it, with no way out. She dropped her bag and whipped out her wand.

"Get away from me. I know more spells now than you'll learn in a lifetime and, trust me, I know my fair share of spells that will leave you in the hospital wing for weeks lacking body parts," she jerked her head in the general direction of Goyle's pants. His eyes widened at this and he went to take a step back but instead, he took a few very quick steps forward, until he was only inches away from Hermione. She could feel his breath on her face.

"I warned you." She said to him. She lowered her wand so it was pointed to somewhere Goyle definitely would never want a wand aimed and began to mutter something under her breath. Crabbe, who had been standing a little behind Goyle all this time, realized was she was doing, ran up to her and grabbed her wand. Hermione gasped in horror. She was now cornered by two heartless sons of death eaters, and she was wandless. Goyle stepped up to her and traced her face with his index finger and slowly ran his thumb along her lips. Hermione was disgusted beyond belief. But, she had an idea. She lifted her arms and rested them on Goyle's shoulders. He seemed surprised at first but then recovered and moved his arms to her waist. "Ohhh Goyle, I'm so glad you finally want me. I've wanted you so bad ever since I first laid eyes on you! Take me now!" Goyle leaned towards her and just before their lips touched, Hermione moved her head to the side so her lips were right by his ears. "This should be fun," she whispered seductively, "now...just re_lax_!" With all her might, Hermione kneed Goyle right in the groin. He doubled over in pain and she took her chance. She grabbed her bag, and as she shot past Crabbe, who was now looking down at Goyle, snatched her wand and sprinted as fast as she could towards her common room. She was no longer hungry. Somewhere in that process, she had lost her appetite.

Hermione ran as fast as her legs would carry her down the hall and up several flights of steps. She was about to turn the corner when, once again, she collided with something very large. Because she was running so fast, and since she was so small, she was thrown several feet back. She moaned in pain as her tailbone hit hard on the cement floor. Although she had landed sitting up, she fell back on her back and just closed her eyes, willing the pain to stop.

"Hey! You alright Granger?" She heard an all too familiar voice say. Although, it sounded somewhat worried. She opened her eyes and saw Malfoy looking down at her. She closed her eyes again for a few minutes and growled slightly when she felt Malfoy nudging her side with his foot. '_Maybe he'll think I'm dead and leave me alone_.' She thought hopefully. But she wasn't so lucky. Malfoy squatted down next to her and began poking her mercilessly in her side. Now, THIS was bad. Hermione was VERY ticklish. She tried so hard not to laugh. She didn't want Malfoy to know her weakness. Harry and Ron were the only ones who knew this and that was only because they had tickled her senseless to cheer her up in 6th year when she had gotten an answer wrong on her Transfiguration exam. Hermione couldn't hold it in any longer. She felt the sides of her lips twinge upwards in a slight smile and opened her eyes. She saw Malfoy looking at her and he must have noticed her smiling because she had started to tickle her. She burst out laughing and shoved Malfoy with all her might and he fell backwards. He lied flat on his back and closed his eyes. '_This is going to be harder than I thought. I'm trying to be nice here but nooooo; she can't just see my kindness and accept it can she?_' Malfoy thought, slightly frustrated.

"What are you doing here Malfoy? Why aren't you in the Great Hall eating with the rest of your death eater friends?" Hermione had pulled herself together after being tickled and now realized just who was tickling her. She was standing now and glaring down at Malfoy. He opened one eye, sighed, and then closed it again.

"I was looking for Crabbe and Goyle, mudblood, why do you care?" He mentally slapped himself as soon as the word had passed his lips. He opened his eyes to see her reaction and was surprised to see her laughing under her breath. "What's so funny Granger?" He snapped. She watched him stand up and then looked up at him.

"Hehe, I know where they are."

'_Did she just say hehe?'_

'_Did I just say hehe?' _

They stood in silence for a minute, before Hermione started to crack up. She was thinking over what she had done to poor Goyle and found it hilarious. She was seducing him! She reminded herself immensely of Pansy. Not only had she done that, she had kneed him hard right where it counts.

"Seriously Granger, what the hell!?" She realized that she had been laughing for a few minutes and stopped immediately, letting the occasional giggle.

"Well, I kind of, well I...well Crabbe and Goyle, they...oh bloody hell." Hermione told him the whole story ending with her attack on Goyle and her getaway. She noticed that during the part where Goyle was tracing her face, Malfoy looked pretty disgusted. Then, when she had started to shamelessly flirt with him, Malfoy looked as if he needed to run to the bathroom. She finished up her story and looked at Malfoy expectantly.

"So that's why you were running so fast. You were running away from the cronies were you?" She nodded her head in response. "Well, that was just plain disgusting of them! You're way too good for them." With that, he stalked off towards the Great hall.

Hermione was just plain confused. Malfoy had just somewhat complimented her. He was definitely up to something. She wouldn't let him get her that easily. Over the past years, they hadn't fought much. Usually, they sought each other out to insult each other but, recently, they'd rarely been seen fighting in the halls, and usually just glared. Now that Hermione thought about it, she hadn't really even spoken to him since the train ride home after fifth year, and that wasn't so much talking as it was shouting spells. She had just had a civil conversation with him. She just figured he was having a good day and went into the common room.

Draco walked down to the Great Hall and looked under the stairway Granger had said she had left them. And, as she had said, Crabbe was sitting picking something out from under his nails while Goyle rolled around the floor screaming in agony. He approached Crabbe, "How long has he been like this?" Draco asked Crabbe.

Crabbe glanced at his watch, rolled his eyes, and replied, "About 15 minutes." Draco chuckled slightly and turned to Goyle.

"Hey Goyle...Goyle!...OY GOYLE!!" Goyle opened up his previously squeezed tight eyes and raised an eyebrow in question. "You do know that there's food in there right?" Draco asked while motioning towards the Great Hall. Goyle raised his eyebrows in interest, stood up, and limped into the Great Hall, with Draco and Crabbe at his heels.

Draco sat down next to Pansy and Blaise. "So," Blaise started, "how's it coming?"

Draco smirked, "Not too bad actually. I actually had a civil conversation with her."

Pansy's eyes widened a bit. "Already?! We just made the bet this morning!" Draco laughed at her.

"Yes, already. Might not be as hard as we thought, huh?" Blaise and Pansy exchanged glances and went back to their food. Draco smiled to himself. _'This is going well. Although, I doubt it'll be that easy to get her to come to the dance with me, let alone fall in love with me.'_

Hermione sat in the common room doing her homework, waiting for Ron and Harry to come back so she could tell them what had just happened. After waiting awhile, she got impatient and decided to go look for them herself. She was just about to go into the Great Hall when she heard cheers from outside. '_Geez! I'm so dumb! There's a Quidditch game. No wonder no one came back to the common room.' _She made her way to the entrance hall and left to go out to the pitch. She squinted her eyes to see who was playing and saw separate streaks of gold and green. Slytherin and Hufflepuff. She heard roars from the slytherin side of the field and then she heard Dean Thomas' voice echo through the grounds. "And another 10 points for SLYTHERIN! They lead Hufflepuff 120 – 90!!" She heard him say something about a sighted snitch and broke into a run, hoping that she could catch the end of the game. She headed towards the Hufflepuff side and joined Harry and Ron who were both screaming for the Hufflepuff seeker. Everyone around her was jumping up and down and screaming unnecessarily loud. She looked towards the pitch and saw Malfoy and the other seeker neck and neck flying at blinding speeds, both with arms outstretched. However, there was a bludger close behind Malfoy and he didn't see it. The snitch took a sharp turn right towards the bleachers. It zoomed to where it was right in front of Hermione, maybe 5 feet out. They all start to wave their arms trying to get the attention of the seeker. Hermione was so into the game, she didn't even notice that she was leaning way far over the edge of the bleachers. She just wanted to get a better look. She saw Draco and Matthew (hufflepuff seeker) speeding right towards her. She watched intensely as the both reached for the snitch. Draco's hand was not even an inch ahead of Matthew's and his fingers were about to clasp around it when, "DRACO WATCH OUT!!" Pansy was screaming to him from the stands. The bludger was zooming towards him, coming right to his head. She saw him zoom upwards to avoid the bludger, but the bludger kept going forward. It was coming right for her. She made to move to the side out of the way but the bleachers were too crammed for that to be possible. She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the impact. "OH MY GOSH! DRACO MALFOY JUST FLEW INTO THE BLUDGER'S PATH! It was flying towards the spectators and he flew in front of it. He just got hit real hard right in the back." She heard Dean scream. Hermione opened her eyes just in time to see Malfoy fall off his broom and land hard on the quidditch pitch's floor.

Ever since Malfoy had been somewhat decent to Hermione, she had started to think that maybe he wasn't all that bad. But there was no way she would forgive him that easily for all the tears and pain he made her endure. She looked down at his motionless body and saw many figures rushing towards him. She saw a woman clad all in white, Madame Pomfrey, kneel down next to him. She saw her point her wand at him and suddenly his eyes shot open. Hermione saw Pomfrey force a potion down his throat and watched as she levitated him towards the castle. She looked over at Ron and Harry and while Ron had a blank look on his face, Harry was laughing.

"Harry Potter! What on earth could be so funny about this?" She asked.

"Mione come on, it's Malfoy. Who really cares?" With that he walked off towards the castle.

Hermione looked at Ron, who was watching Harry walk away, jaw dropped. He turned his head to Hermione.

"Wow that was something. I mean, it might be Malfoy, but, I never thought someone could be so heartless as to laugh when someone might be dying as we speak." Hermione nodded in understanding but really all she could think about were Ron's last words. '"Dying as we speak."' She couldn't deny the curiosity welling within her so she told Ron that she was off to the library and made her way to the hospital wing. '_He could be DYING! Why the hell did he do that?! He could've gotten himself killed! He even might have_!' She quickened her pace. '_Why did he come back down? He still had a good chance to get the snitch. Matthew had moved too! Neither of them would have had an advantage or a disadvantage. What WAS he thinking? Honestly, how could he be so thick?' _Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. She was worrying about Malfoy! Actually worrying! One civilized conversation and she was concerned about his health. She DEFINITELY needed some sleep. Even as crazy as she thought she was she continued on her way to the hospital wing, her face etched with worry. As she passed through the corridors, she could hear students whispering.

"Did you see Draco Malfoy?"

"I honestly have never seen so much blood!"

"He looked like he was gonna die!"

"Madame Pomfrey looked worried too, now that's saying something. If I know anyone who's confident in herself it's her. If she's worried...I don't know."

Every whisper Hermione heard made her move faster, especially that last one. She was worried?! Madame Pomfrey was never worried! She had regrown bones for crying out loud! And she wasn't worried about it at all! If she's worried, that is never a good sign. Finally she saw the doors entering the hospital wing. She saw Malfoy lying in a bed, motionless.

She hurried to his side and whispered, "Malfoy...Malfoy?...Oh God Malfoy why did you have to be so damn stupid?!" She heard him groan slightly and saw his eyes flutter open. He squinted in the bright light and looked over at her. It took awhile for her face to come into focus and when it did, he smiled, very slightly of course.

Draco was so close. He was about to snatch the snitch when he heard pansy yelling for him. He spun his head around and saw a bludger speeding towards him. He shot up and looked down. He saw Matthew swerve also; the snitch was gone. He looked at the bludger and looked to where it was headed. He saw a very panicked Granger trying to get out of the way but was unable to. He saw her shut her eyes and saw a tear escape her squeezed shut eyes. Before he knew what he was doing, she shot down and stopped his broom right in front of her. He looked at her face for a second before he felt the bludger smash into his back. He felt himself plummeting towards the ground, and everything went black. After awhile of darkness, he felt himself being pulled back. He opened his eyes and saw Pomfrey's worried eyes staring down at him. He felt a potion being forced down his throat and felt himself being levitated. He assumed he was taken to the hospital wing but he blacked out somewhere along the way. All he saw was black, and then he heard a soft, concerned voice in the distance. She sounded so far away. He just wanted to get to whoever was talking. The voice sounded so kind and he just wanted to hear it and see who was making it. He opened his eyes and saw obnoxious bright lights. He looked over and saw a blurry face. He squinted his eyes to focus in the person and finally saw who she was. It was Granger, for some reason, this slightly cheered him up. She was waiting for him to wake up. She has to have some feelings for him then. He was already winning and the bet had only been made earlier today. This thought made him smile. Granger started to talk. But he couldn't hear her. She was mumbling something under her breath.

"Well, why did you...you shouldn't have... you could've... thanks." She said all this loudly but her last word was not even audible.

"What was that last bit Granger?"

"You heard me."

"No, no I actually didn't."

"I said thanks Malfoy you happy?"

"Yes actually I am." He said with a smirk.

She smiled slightly at him and then her face turned serious. Her brow furrowed and she frowned. "Why'd you do it Malfoy?"

"It would have hit you."

"Since when do you care about what happens to me?"

"Well, I really don't. But I couldn't have that bludger messing up your beautiful face now could I?"


	2. Anger and Jealousy

"Whaa? My beau—what?" '_What is he saying? Is he serious? What has gotten into him?! First, he is being somewhat nice, we have a civilized conversation, and now I'm _beautiful_? Someone has clearly had _way _too much firewhisky.' _That was what Hermione decided. Malfoy was drunk or maybe stoned. Who knows? But something was definitely not normal about this.

"You alright there Granger?" She had been staring at him with her jaw dropped. She shook her head.

"Um yeah, I'm good. Question."

"Answer," Draco smirked.

"What has gotten into you Malfoy?"

"Nothing has gotten into me. And it's Draco thank you very much." Something had definitely gotten into him. She didn't know what he was talking about.

"Malfoy, why have you been being so nice to me? You have been acting so strange." She refused to say his name. Still way too weird.

"Well, I decided that there was nothing wrong with you. I mean you're still a witch. You're very smart and very beautiful. Even if you are a mudblood." '_Crap_' He immediately regretted saying that again. He had made some progress and all he got out of it was a swift slap in the face. Then, she stormed out of the hospital wing.

Harry and Ron after Quidditch game.

"Where'd Mione go? She was right by us when Malfoy fell wasn't she?"

"Harry, stop worrying! I know you really, really, like her but she's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"Yeah, I know. But, what if she's in trouble and we're not there to protect her?"

"Bloody Hell Harry, she'll be fine. She'll come to the common room when she's ready don't worry about it." Harry had liked Hermione for awhile. It had just begun as an innocent crush, but over time it had grown to full blown love. Harry would do anything for her and give anything for her to know and feel the same way. But, the only problem was, was that he was no where near brave enough to come forward. That was ironic considering the stuff he'd been through. He'd come face to face with Voldemort several times and he didn't have the guts to tell one of his best friends he had a small, ok incredibly large, thing for her.

Finally, Hermione stormed into the common room, her face tear-stained. "Geez Hermione what's wrong?!" Ron had run to her as soon as she came in. Usually she was calm and collected but she had exploded into the common room crying and in a terrible mood.

"Where does he get off calling me beautiful then calling me a mudblood?! He acts as if he cares and then goes and calls me foul names! UGGGHHHHHHH... the NERVE!" After that she stormed into the girls' dormitory and didn't come out all night. Harry was very concerned for her and would have followed her had it not been for the anti-boy charms all over the girls' dorms. He really liked her and hated seeing her like this. But, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy when Hermione had mentioned another guy. There was only one guy who had ever called Hermione a mudblood, but there was no way that he'd act like he cared, let alone call her beautiful. Who else could it be though? He decided to seek out the guy who he had thought it was and question him. So he left the common room and headed right for the hospital wing.

Draco just kept mentally beating himself. It had been going perfectly! She had smiled at him and then, even though she seemed very confused, he could've sworn he saw her blush after he called her beautiful. He didn't mean it obviously. I mean she had big bushy brown hair...or did she? Wait, since when has her hair been like that. Her hair was now a few inches past her shoulders and had perfect ringlets in it. It looked really soft too; maybe if this went well, he'd be able to find out for sure how soft it was. He smiled slightly at the thought of running his fingers through her hair. Ok, so maybe she wasn't all that bad looking. With her deep brown eyes, and curly brown hair. She had a pretty nice body too. He had gotten a nice view of it when she had fallen in front of him. Her robes tended to slide up when she sat, revealing smooth, shapely legs. He didn't mind of course. He started to think that maybe he did mean what he had told her and started to doze off. He was nearly asleep when he heard the door crash open and saw Potter storm through the doors and towards him. _'Okay, seriously, does he ever give up? I didn't do anything! He's probably here to yell at me for angering his precious little Hermione.' _

"What did you do to her Malfoy!?"

'_Yep, that's why he's here.' _

"What are you rambling about Potter, and who are you talking about?"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. HERMIONE! She came storming into the common room earlier and was crying and saying something about someone calling her a mudblood. And there's only one person who calls her that. You, Malfoy. I really care about her, Malfoy and I swear to God if you ever do anything to hurt her again, I'll hex you to hell and back!" Then, he turned and started to walk away.

"You really like her don't you, Potter? You actually think a girl like her would fall for someone like you?" Harry spun around to face him, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Yes actually I think she just might. She also said you were acting like you cared. And if you actually think you have a chance with my Hermione, dream on. She's mine, Malfoy, stay away."

Draco raised his eyebrows at the furious boy in front of him. '_He actually has a crush on the mud—muggleborn. Aw bloody hell, I just corrected myself. And I wasn't even talking out loud. No one would have even heard me and I stopped myself. I swear, this bet is gonna be the death of me.' _He watched as Potter stormed away and decided to have a little fun.

"That's what you think." Potter paused for a second then continued out of the wing. '_Well, that was fun.' _He thought with a smirk.

Back at the common room, Harry had just told Ron everything that had happened in the hospital wing and they were talking about what Malfoy could've met when he said "That's what you think." Harry had just told him that Hermione was his and that was his response. They decided that he was just trying to anger Harry and that they would talk about it to Hermione the next morning. Until then, they had a 3 foot potions essay to do and they had no idea what it was even supposed to be about.

Draco had been given permission to leave and left to go back to the common room. Blaise and Pansy were there and ambushed him with questions as soon as he got there. They had seen Hermione watch him fall, with a very worried look in her eyes, and then left. They assumed that she had gone to the hospital wing. After Draco had told them what happened, conveniently leaving out the slap, they had very odd looks on their faces. A cross between confusion, amazement, and worry. It didn't look very good. It made pansy look like she had hit her face real hard on something, had her eyebrows lifted to well beyond the middle of her forehead, and then making her eyes a few sizes larger. Draco noticed this and gave her a positively disgusted look.

"DRACO, PANSY, BLAISE!! HURRY! Come to the great hall! Dumbledore is picking a 6th year head boy and girl this year! The seventh years have a special project and aren't gonna be here enough to be the heads!" A little 2nd year had burst into the common room, spoken, and sprinted back out. They all hurried to the Great hall and found all four house tables full and slid into their spots at the slytherin table just in time to see Dumbledore stand up. The whole hall quieted down and was listening intently to what the headmaster had to say.

"Thank you, students, for joining me on such short notice. This year, our seventh years will be involved in a project that will take up much of their time. Because of this, there is no pair that will be available long enough to fulfill the requirements of head boy and girl. So, this year, we have decided to use our top 6th year students for the heads. We will choose our top girl (every glanced at Hermione) and our top boy (several boys received glances). Now, without further ado, our new head girl, Hermione Granger, and our new head boy, Draco Malfoy. (Applause followed) Now would you two please come to my office tonight at 7:15 and I will take you to the head dormitories. Yes, you two will share a common room and a bathroom. However, you will have separate dorms. Thank you all, again, for coming on such short notice. You may leave." With that, he sat down and people began to leave the Great hall.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione had received countless congratulations. She was so happy. She had wanted to be head girl ever since she came to Hogwarts. This was so overwhelming. However, the prospect of sharing a common room and bathroom with her enemy of 6 years kind of dampened the moment. She glanced at her watch. 6:00. she had a little over an hour to enjoy Gryffindor tower with her friends so she decided to go there and enjoy it while she could. When she finally got there, people were waiting with butter beer and snacks. They were all dancing and having a good time but Harry just couldn't get his mind of his situation. He really liked Hermione. But something was going on with Malfoy. He didn't know if Malfoy had any feelings for her or anything but he was definitely corrupting her. And now he was gonna be living with her. He really didn't like this. Maybe if he just told Hermione she'd tell him she felt the same way and she'd completely ignore Malfoy. Hey, he could hope. 'Well, here goes nothing.' Hermione was sitting on an armchair talking with the twins. They were plainly flirting with her and that made him mad. He got even more upset seeing Hermione blush slightly, smile, and then flirt back. He couldn't believe they would do this! They know that he likes her so much and yet they still shamelessly flirt. He approached them and gave George a look that clearly said 'GO AWAY!' George elbowed Fred and nodded in Harry's direction. They say bye to Hermione and walked past Harry. But not before nudging him and giving him very obvious winks.

"H-hey Hermione."

"Hey Harry, how are you?"

"Oh I'm good. Hey, um I gotta tell you something. Um, well it's...ok...well you see..."

"Harry, relax, you know you can tell me anything right? I'm your best friend. You don't need to feel nervous about this at all."

"Yeah, you're right. Ok, well ever since 5th year, when we fought all those deatheaters, I thought I'd lost you. And just the thought made me realize, Hermione I don't know what I'd do without you. I care about you so much Hermione. You are such an important part in my life and you mean more to me than you could ever know. Well, what I'm trying to say is...Hermione, I really really like you. Well actually, I think I might love you." By the end of his speech, Hermione's eyes had begun to water and she had a huge smile on her face. But very quickly, the smiled vanished and her brow furrowed. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"Oh, Harry, that means so much to me. And I love you too. It's just I can't say that I like you as anything more than a friend. Oh Harry I'm so sorry." She stood up quickly and she looked at him, an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Fine, whatever, I don't care! Now go away!"

"Oh, but Harry it's nothing personal, I just think it would be strange. I do love you though but only as a friend."

"Aww, I'm sorry...you must have confused me with someone who cares!" He shouted angrily. Hermione felt her eyes well up with tears and then felt them pour down her face. She glared at Harry before fleeing the common, sobbing as she went. She exited the portrait and down the hall but not before Harry yelled, "YEAH GO CRY TO MALFOY!!"

Hermione still had about 15 minutes before she had to be at Dumbledore's and his office was only about 3 minutes from the tower. So she decided to just explore for awhile. She had a lot to think about. Malfoy thought she was beautiful, Harry loved her. She couldn't have loved Harry like he did her. It was just so weird. He was her best friend and he loved her! She just couldn't see them being any more than friends and it killed her to have to tell Harry that. She had tears streaming down her face from Harry's heartfelt speech, and then having to break his heart. It was just too much for her. She felt terrible. But, she couldn't just pretend to love him just to make him happy. Because then she'd be unhappy. But she had seen the look in his eyes when she had told him she didn't love him. First it was hurt, but then he had exploded at her. Why would he be angry at her? He had no reason to be. Oh, but now she was having second thoughts with Malfoy. She could never like him, but he had been decent to her lately and she was thinking about at least being friends. Of course, telling off Harry then going to make friends with his enemies definitely wouldn't help with his anger. Well, she had done enough thinking for the night. It was time to head to Dumbledore's office.

Draco had an hour after the announcement before he had to meet Granger and Dumbledore to see his new dorm. Although, he was upset to leave his friends, he never was very comfortable in that common room. It was always dark and cold. Not very cozy if ya ask me. He headed back to the common room and decided that he would enjoy what was enjoyable while he could. When he got back, nothing was changed. Everyone was off in their little corners talking, probably thinking of ways to sabotage poor unsuspecting Gryffindors. This thought made him smirk. Good ol' Slytherins. He continued on to his dorm and found that his stuff wasn't there anymore. The house elves must have already moved it to the new common room. He sat on his old bed and started to think about this bet. He didn't like granger, at all. In fact, the whole idea of getting her to love him and taking her to the dance kind of made him sick. Of course, if he didn't take her, Pansy drag him there as her date. '_Ugh, Pansy_.' She was so sick. So many times, she had tried to seduce Draco. To make him sleep with her. She had slept with countless guys. Every slytherin guy had been with her, except him, every Ravenclaw guy, most of the Hufflepuffs, and even some Gryffindors. But, contrary to popular belief, he hadn't been with anyone. Even though some people would find this hard to believe, he had morals. He would either wait till marriage or wait until someone who he really cared about, or loved that is. Even he couldn't believe he had made it this long. He was gonna be 18 in a few months and he had had girls all over him since he was 11. Well, now he had to get to Dumbledore's to meet him and granger. So he stood up and left the dorms. But on the way through the common room, he met up with Blaise.

"Dude, Draco you better hurry. I passed the mudblood on the way back from getting something from the library. She was crying! Now would be a good time to take charge, man. Comforting an upset girl will score you some major points. Go for it."

"Wait...you want me to win? Why are you giving me tips?"

"Well, as fun as it would be to prove you wrong and then have you be my servant, even I know how it is to have pansy hanging on your arm and squealing in your ear. And I wouldn't want to put anyone through that," he said with a smirk. "Now go! Hurry, you can still catch her." Draco gave Blaise an appreciative smile and fled the common room.

Hermione was walking towards the office with her shoulders hunched and her head down. Today had been a bad day. First, she had been made head girl, which was good. But now there's all this with Harry. She was just so overwhelmed. And she had head girl duties on top of it now. She felt a lump rise in her throat. But, she couldn't cry. She wouldn't face Malfoy and Dumbledore with tears in her eyes. Especially Malfoy. All these years whenever she would cry, she would glance at him and see him smirk at her. He enjoyed seeing her hurt. And that just made it hurt even more. She let out a small sob and found it hopeless. She would break down seeing him. He always had that stupid smirk on his face and seeing it would just remind her of those times. She put her back against a wall and slid down to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs, and hid her face in her knees. She tried to muffle all her cries to the best of her ability, but it wasn't working well. But everyone would probably be in their common rooms so no one would hear her. She had been crying for a few minutes when she heard someone sit down beside her. She assumed it was Harry or Ron, or some other Gryffindor, so she wiped her tears and looked over at her visitor...

Draco had been roaming the halls looking for her for awhile and finally gave up. He was sure he'd have time to comfort her now being that they would be sharing a common room so he decided just to head to the meeting. His mind started to wander and he had totally forgotten about granger when he heard small sobs coming from a dark corridor. He couldn't see anything but he could find her easily enough. She was crying quite loudly so he could just follow the noises. There was very dim torchlight coming from end and he could see the outline of her meek body curled up on the floor. While he was looking, he was just thinking about thinking up something mushy to say to win her over but when he saw her, he felt something in him. He actually felt bad for her. Maybe if he was lucky, he wouldn't have to make himself sound like a complete idiot. So he approached her and sat down next to her. He watched her as she wiped her tears then looked over at him. He had never seen someone who looked more beat and he decided to take advantage of this. He was going to take Blaise's advice and comfort her. Maybe she'd fall for him faster than he had expected.

She looked over at whoever had sat next to her. 'Malfoy?' She had expected him to look at her and then smirk and then taunt her. Probably say something along the lines of "Aww potter and the weasel don't love you anymore? Poor mudblood." But no, he had a look of concern in his eyes. He actually looked sincere.

"You alright, Granger?" He sounded genuine enough.

"No, I'm really not."

"What's going on?"

"There's just so much crap in my life right now. At home, here, I just can't take all of this!" He thought she would be happy about making head girl. But she was crying about it.

"What's wrong here? I thought you'd be thrilled to make head girl."

"Oh it's not that. That actually made me feel better. It's just, there's that whole Goyle thing. That wasn't the first time something like that happened to me. I was lucky this time. I was able to get away. I wasn't so lucky the other times..." She trailed off. She couldn't believe she was telling him this. But, for some reason, she felt like she could trust him. Over the summer, she had been at a city pool and had been tanning. A guy walked up to her and started to talk to her. At first, it was just innocent conversation. But then he had started to ask her personal questions and move closer. She had asked him to leave her alone and when she did, he had become aggressive. He got a firm grip on her arm and dragged her to the custodial closet. She hadn't gotten away in time. She had lost her innocence to some random guy at a pool, and it wasn't even her choice. That was the worst of it, but other times, her friend, Jack, at home had had a friend over. He had introduced them, and then left to go do something. The guy, Alex, had felt her up against her will and when she told Jack about it, Alex denied it completely. She had been through so much and she just couldn't take it. Now there was this whole thing with Harry. It was just too much. She looked over at Malfoy. He looked so nice. He had a slight frown on his face but instead kept talking.

'_Whoa. What does she mean? Has she been raped or something?! What has this poor girl been through?' _He couldn't believe she had told him that stuff. He had expected her to just tell him it was nothing and continue to Dumbledore's. But she was telling him everything.

"Wait, what you mean 'other times'? What are you talking about?" Something in Draco's eyes made her trust him, made her think that he wouldn't say anything other than comfort her, and keep it a secret, so she told him everything. As she told him about Alex and about the guy from the pool, she couldn't believe what she was doing. Harry and Ron didn't even know about this. Probably because she knew that they would hunt down the guy and brutally murder them. By the time she had finished talking, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Just thinking back about those times tore her apart. Those had been the worst times in her life and she was spilling them to one of her worst enemies.

She finished her stories and was crying terribly. Draco didn't know what he should do. Should he just tell her everything would be ok? Or should he take another step and put his arm around her or something? He looked over at her fragile body. She was crying into her knees again and her small body was shaking with her quiet sobs. He felt so bad for her. '_Aw screw it.'_ Draco decided that what she needed right now as a shoulder to cry on and he was the only one there. Not to mention, being the shoulder to cry on would 'score him some major points.' As Blaise had put it. So, very gently he put his left arm around her and gently caressed her arm with his thumb. His free hand was gently sliding up and down her arm. She looked up at him, confused, but soon smiled slightly at him and relaxed into his arms. He smiled back and repositioned himself so she could fit in his arms. She seemed to fit perfectly. He smiled to himself when she put her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer to him. Something about this felt so right. But he couldn't enjoy it any longer. They were about 5 minutes or so from Dumbledore's office and they were supposed to be there...he looked at his watch...now.

"Hey...Granger. As much as I hate to stop this, we have to get to Dumbledore's now." She looked up at him and smiled. She still had tears in her eyes but she had stopped crying. She gathered all her courage, leaned towards him, and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"Thank you." She then stood up and looked down at him. "Well, are you gonna make me walk all by myself?" She attempted a glare, which didn't work very well, but he saw amusement in her eyes. She seemed to feel much better and he was glad that he was the cause of it. Usually he was glad when he was the cause of her pain and now he was happy to have stopped it. This was weird. He stood up and started to walk down the hall to Dumbledore's office, with her right next to him. He looked down at her walking next to him and smiled. This wasn't so bad; he could get used to this.

When they got to the stone gargoyle, they found it already open and started up the spiral staircase. They saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk writing something on a scroll of parchment and patiently waited for him to finish. When he had rolled it up and tied it, he gave his wand a little flick and a beautiful snowy white owl soared in his window, retrieved the letter, and left in the same graceful manner it had arrived.

"Ahh, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, I've been expecting you. Buncha Crunch?" He held out a little blue bag full of crunch chocolates to them. Malfoy gave him a weird look.

"Muggle candy." Hermione whispered to him. They both politely declined the candy and sat down in the plush chairs he had just conjured.

"Well how are my new heads?"

"Good thank you, how are you?" Hermione replied. Draco just nodded.

"I am well thank you very much. Well there isn't much to say right now. Congratulations on your new positions and we will give you your duties and further explain them later. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your new dormitories." With that he stood and walked out. They followed him to a place in the castle where they had never been. He stopped at a random wall, pulled out his wand and drew an X on a certain brick. He explained that this was so no one else could enter. Even if someone drew the X on the right square, it would only respond to their wands and the professors' wands. After drawing the X, he waited a few seconds and walked right through the wall. Draco and Hermione followed. Their common room was up a long spiraling staircase in a tower on the 7th floor. They finally came to a portrait of two people playing in a field. One wearing maroon, the other green. They were getting along wonderfully and approached the front of the portrait when Dumbledore called them. (ahem "Joel, Kathryn") "Your password will be 'As One'. If you wish to change it, you have to clear it with your partner and the portrait. And, of course, myself or Professor McGonagall. Well, tomorrow is Saturday, so you two will have the weekend to get used to your new surroundings and of course your new roommates. Well, I'll leave you two now. Goodnight." With that, he turned and strode off down the staircase down to the base of the tower. They stood for a second before Draco broke the silence, "As One." Then, they entered the common room.

It had to be the most beautiful thing either of them has seen. It went to a point at the ceiling as it was the top of a tower. It was probably about the same size as the other common rooms but it was much more beautiful. There was an outstanding fireplace where they could both comfortably stand. And there were two big squishy couches. One maroon, the other green. There were bookcases lining the walls and off towards the other side, there were three doors. One said "HG" on it, and the other said "DM". The door in the middle must have been a bathroom. They both went to their separate rooms and found them to be decorated in their favorite colors. They both had another door which led to the bathroom. So, they could get to each other's rooms through the bathroom. Their bedrooms both had canopied king sized beds and then the appropriate wardrobes and dressers. They both met back in the common room after exploring for a bit and flopped on their own separate couches.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Hermione finally broke the silence, looking around the room.

Draco looked at her and smiled, "Yeah, you really are."

Draco had been in a whole other world. He was letting his eyes wonder all over the common room and was brought back to reality when he heard Hermione speak. He couldn't recall what she had said, all he heard was the word beautiful, and the only thing beautiful he could see was her. '_Bloody hell did I just think that?!'_ "Yeah you really are." '_Bloody hell did I just SAY that?!' _He looked over to see her reaction and saw her looking at him with a huge smile on her face.

"Do you have any idea how sweet you are?" She asked him, still smiling.

He smiled back, "What can I say, it's a gift." He watched her blush and look down. He decided to ask the question that had been bothering him since their meeting.

"So, um...You feeling better?" She tore her eyes from her hands on her lap back to his face, "Yes, I am. And it's all thanks to you. So, thank you Malfoy."

"Why can't you call me Draco?"

"Well, I've called you Malfoy all these years and it just seems weird to start calling you by your first name."

"Yes, well, all these years we've been enemies. But I've come to realize that it doesn't matter what kind of blood you have. You're still a witch. And not to mention you're better at magic then me... I have no right in saying you're below me. I was just really ignorant then. So...I wouldn't exactly call us enemies now would you?" It was really killing Draco to say all that. He still had all the same thoughts about blood. But thinking about it, she was better in all their classes than him...nawww purebloods were above everyone else. And he knew it.

'_Wow, did he really say all that? Maybe he has changed...but...it was so sudden. I just don't know.' _She decided she needed some time to think. So she stood up and gave Draco a weird look when he stood up with her.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked her.

"No, I'm just kind of confused. I have to think of something to say to Harry too and th—"

"Wait, what about potter?"

"He just kind of...well, he told me he loved me and got mad when I said I didn't feel the same way." Her eyes started to well up again as he had told her he didn't care. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and saw Draco lift his hand to brush it away. He put his hand on her shoulder and sat her down.

"What happened?" He asked her sympathetically. She told him what happened at the common room and by the end of her story she was crying softly.

"Hey, hey stop crying. It's ok. If he doesn't understand, he was never a real friend anyways." Hermione had conveniently left out what Harry had said to her about Malfoy. That definitely wouldn't help. But, he did have a point. She just didn't feel the same way and a real friend would understand that.

"That is a very good point. He should understand me! You know what? I'm just gonna ignore him. If he feels bad about what he did to me, which he should, then he can approach me, I'm not gonna make the extra effort. Thank you, Malfoy."

With that, she gave him another kiss on the cheek and headed towards her dorm. When she got to her door she turned around and saw Draco staring at her, smiling. She gave him a small smile and got a wink in return. She blushed slightly and entered her room, closing her door behind her. She got ready for bed, all the while thinking about a guy. You'd think that she'd be thinking about Harry, and how to handle this situation. But no, her thoughts were centered on a certain blonde haired slytherin. She climbed into bed and continued to think about him. Soon she had fallen asleep, still with a small smile on her face.

'_Wow, he couldn't believe potter would actually lose his temper like that. Especially with Hermione. Holy crap...I just called her Hermione. Oh well, I actually feel really bad for her. I usually never pity anyone. But she's just been through so much_.' He watched her leave. He had gotten another kiss. That's two just today. He found himself smiling thinking about it. She turned around at him and smiled back. He gave her a small wink and chuckled to himself when she blushed and shut her door. He went up to his room and got ready for bed. He tried to think of other things but he couldn't help the certain Gryffindor who kept flashing through his mind. After finding himself unable to rid his mind of her, he found that he didn't mind it all so much. So he let his mind wander and fell asleep smiling that night, dreaming of a beautiful brunette.

The next day at breakfast, Hermione sat with Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati rather than Ron and Harry. She would avoid Harry at all costs if she could. It was going very well and they had barely even looked at each other but then about 10 minutes before they would leave for their first class, Harry approached her. She was telling Ginny something and saw her staring behind her where Harry was standing. Hermione followed her gaze and saw Harry. Her heart sunk, she had been so close! She glared at him, "Can I help you?" She asked him coldly. The girls around her hadn't heard their conversation in the common room but had heard him yell at her, then seen her storm out of the room, so they too were glaring at him.

He was clearly uncomfortable under all their glares, "Um, Hermione, can I talk to you?"

"Go ahead."

"No, I mean...alone."

"Ugh, sure, whatever." She responded rolling her eyes. She stood up and walked quickly out of the Great Hall, Harry following a few steps behind. They walked down the hall some and then went underneath the same staircase where the whole Goyle ordeal had taken place.

"Well, what do you want?" She asked him coolly.

"Look, Hermione, I am SO sorry about what happened. I just took it the wrong way. I should've understood."

"Gee ya think?!"

"I said I was sorry! What else do you want!?" Hermione knew he was sorry, but he had put her through so much, and he wasn't going to get out of it that easy.

"I thought you didn't care..." She said, raising her eyebrows in a challenge. He didn't catch on.

"Oh Hermione you know I do. If I could take it back, I would. I am really sorry."

"Ohhh, don't you worry about it," she said a little too sweetly, "I was only upset for about 10 minutes after our little feud. Malfoy saw me upset and came to my rescue."

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, he found me crying in the old charms hallway, and held me till I stopped crying. He's a really sweet guy...you should get to know him."

She gave Harry a smirk when she saw his eyes burn with rage. They were flashing dangerously and Hermione was starting to get worried. She started to walk back to the great hall but was stopped when Harry grabbed her arm very tightly, spun her around, lifted his free arm and hit her hard across the face.


	3. The Dance

Hermione held the spot on her face where Harry had hit her. She tasted blood in her mouth and looked at Harry. He looked like he could kill her. She tried to run again but he grabbed her and slammed her against the wall, his hands pinning her shoulders to the wall. He was holding her very tightly and glaring at her. She whimpered, "Harry, you're hurting me." Harry took a look at their position, let go of her, took and step back, smirked and said, "Good." Then he turned back and went into the Great Hall to get his stuff for potions. Hermione leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor. Once again, she pulled her knees up to her chest. Only this time, the tears never came. She just shook. She shook with both anger and fear. Her best friend of 6 years had just hit her. How could he do that to her!? Honestly, a true friend would understand and at LEAST hear her out, but nooo. She found herself crying now...and...late for potions. This couldn't get any worse could it? She ran back into the great hall, grabbed her bag, and ran as fast as she could towards the dungeons. When she got to the door, she burst through and found the whole class staring at her. "Late? Miss Granger...25 points from Gryffindor...My God, what did you do to your mouth?" She lifted her hand to her mouth and felt something wet in the corner. She looked at her hand and found it covered in blood. Apparently the injury from her bloody cheek had gotten worse and was seeping out from between her lips.

"Oh, um...I..." She glanced at Harry. He glared at her and gave her a smirk. "I bit my cheek Professor Snape."

"Ah, well let's not be so clumsy Miss Granger. Have a seat before you further disturb my class and I'm forced to take more points from your pathetic house." She murmured a "yes sir" before taking her seat between Ron and Harry. Ron gave her a questioning look when she scooted her seat closer to him. She was now right up against him and had about a foot between herself and Harry. When class was through, she quickly grabbed her bag and ran to transfiguration with the Slytherins; hoping to find a seat with Parvati and lavender so she didn't have to risk sitting with or even near Harry.

Draco was sitting at breakfast and saw Hermione sitting and laughing with Brown, Patil, and the Little Weasley. She seemed happy enough. She was ignoring and avoiding Potter, which was a very good idea. He went back to his breakfast and looked up when he saw potter stand up from the corner of his eye. He watched as he approached her and then they left. He assumed that they were going to talk about their fight and was tempted to go help, but he figured that doing that was only mess things up even more, which, for a change, he didn't want because Hermione would be the one to suffer. And he didn't want her to suffer more than she already had. She had had a long hard summer and didn't need anymore crap. He checked his watch and saw that he had potions. '_Nice_.' He had always loved potions. One, because his head of house taught it, and two, because it was the only class that he had beat Hermione in. He picked up his bag and headed towards the dungeons. When he left the great hall, he saw potter storm towards the dungeons and looked in the direction he had come. He thought he heard a small whimper and was going to go investigate but had to get to potions. However, when he had gotten to potions and saw who was missing, he wished he had done otherwise. After about 10 minutes, he was getting slightly worried. He was getting restless but then he saw the door burst open and her rush in. She looked very rushed and was breathing heavily. Snape took some points and then said something about her mouth. Draco looked at her lip and saw the there was blood coming from it. Ok, _now_ he was worried. It had to have been her who he heard crying. And he saw potter come from that same place. '_Bloody hell what did he do to her_?' He decided he would question her about it in the common room next period; because both Gryffindor and slytherin had a free period.

In the common room, Hermione sat on the floor, rocking herself back and forth. She could imagine how pathetic she looked, but right about now she could not care any less. She had her eyes closed and was trying to think of anything other than her and Harry's confrontation at breakfast. She kept trying but it just wouldn't work. Anything she could think of made her think of Harry. Eventually, she found herself crying again. '_I_ _cry_ _too_ _much_,' she thought to herself. Suddenly, the door to the common room opened and Draco ran in. He dropped his bag as soon as he saw her and sprinted over.

"Are you ok? What happened? Potter did it didn't he? I'll kill him." He couldn't believe he was making such a big deal out of this, when did he start caring? She laughed softly.

"Breath, Malfoy. I'm alright."

"Well!? What happened to you? Why were you bleeding?" She took a deep breath and launched into the story about their fight. Malfoy smiled, an actual genuine smile, when she said that thing about him being a sweet guy. "Did you really mean that? About me being a sweet guy?"

"Well, at the time, my goal was to make him as angry as possible. But...yes...now that I think about it...yes, I did mean it. I don't know what has come over you. But I like it." She smiled at him and he returned the gesture. They just looked into each other's eyes but finally Draco broke the comfortable silence.

"You know Granger, once you get to know you, you're not so bad. I could get used to this."

"Get used to what exactly?"

"Well, this," he put his arm around her, "and, of course, some of this." And he leaned in and lightly brushed his lips against hers. She still had her eyes closed but she was smiling,

"Yeah, I could definitely get used to this too." And she repositioned herself so she was more comfortable and rested her head against his shoulder and he put his head on hers. And this is how they stayed for the rest of their free period, talking about anything and everything.

Draco ran as fast as he could from transfiguration towards the common room. He was now more worried than ever. During the class, he saw Potter look over at Hermione and saw that she had tears streaming down her face. Brown and Patil had their arms around Hermione and were lightly talking to her. They must have known what had happened because they were glaring at him and Brown had kept messing up his project. They were supposed to be turning jewelry boxes into chess boards. Brown would inconspicuously flick her wand in the direction of Potter's jewelry box right when he tried to do the spell and make it turn into a plant rather than the chess board. After Professor McGonagall told him that he needed to work more on it and gave him extra homework, she was satisfied and went back to her own work. After class, he grabbed his bag and headed towards the common room. He was nearly there and was about to draw his X when Pansy came up to him. "Heyyyy Drakiiiie," she purred. "Have any plans for the free period? Want to come to my dorm for awhile?" She asked this and was running her hands up and down his chest. He looked at her in pure disgust. "Do you have any idea how disgusting you are? And are you aware that I would sooner hang myself with barbed wire than sleep with you?" Her jaw dropped in disbelief and she turned and stormed down the hallway, approaching another guy. He rolled his eyes and entered the common room.

He saw her on the ground crying, dropped his bag, and ran to her. During the story, he wanted nothing more than to hunt down potter and punch him firmly across the face. But, when she got to the part of saying he was a sweet guy, he found himself smiling. And she meant it too. He decided to try something and he put his arm around her. After she didn't protest, and actually seemed to like it, he leaned in and kissed her lightly. "Yeah, I could definitely get used to this too." '_I wonder if she likes me. She's certainly acting like it.' _He decided to just ask. "Hey Granger?"

"Yes?"

"Do you, well, um, did you ever think that maybe you might..." He trailed off. She looked questioningly at him.

"Draco?"

'_She just said my name.'_

'_I just said his name.'_

"You said my name."

"Yes, why would I call one of my friends by their surname?" She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"That is a very good point, _Hermione_. Now as I was saying before, do you think it possible at all, that you might, well, have feelings for me?" He asked sincerely, he actually wanted to know.

"Well, Draco..." she trailed off. '_Do I? I mean, he's been so sweet to me lately, he held me while I cried. He KISSED me for crying out loud. Yes, yes I think I just might_.' "Well, yes, Draco, I think I just might." She flashed him a large, genuine smile.

For some reason, hearing her say that she liked him made him feel very happy. He'd seen the real Hermione Granger over the past few days, and he really liked her. Not to mention, with Potter being so aggressive, she'd need someone to protect her. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

'_Wow, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd be telling Draco Malfoy I liked him, right after he kissed me too! If someone had told me last year that I'd be in this position this year, I'd have laughed in their face. I wonder if he likes me as well...' _"Um, Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Same question." '_I think I do, I've seen the real Hermione, and I like her a lot. I could definitely get used to hanging out with her...' _

"Well, yes, Hermione, I think I just might." He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. She smiled at him and she seemed truly happy.

"Well this won't go over well with Harry, but Ron is a great guy, he'll understand."

"Well, I've got to get to Charms but if you have any trouble at all with either of them just let me know and I'll be there." He gave her a wink and kissed her lightly on the temple. "See you tonight." And then he let go of her hand and got up and left, picking up his bag on his way out.

Hermione thought back on what had just happened. Draco Malfoy had kissed her and then she had told him she liked him, which she did. But then, he had said he liked her back. '_Bloody hell_.' She slapped her hand to her forehead and shook her head. He liked her?! This was something that any other day than this, she'd have pinched herself silly to wake herself up from the nightmare. But now, it was like a dream come true. Other than the fact that her day had started with a slap in the face from her best friend, it was going surprisingly well. She looked at her watch...she had to get going. She had History of Magic.

During history of magic, Hermione sat by Harry and Ron and for some reason, was perfectly comfortable. Her mind was centered on Draco so she really couldn't care less about Harry. She hadn't thought about him the whole class period but that died when he turned to her in the middle of Professor Binns' lecture. He put his hand atop hers and gave it a light squeeze. She tried to pull away but he just held onto it even tighter to where it was painful. She whispered to him, "Harry! Let go of me!"

He glared at her, "No, not until you give me what I want."

Her heart started to beat even harder than it had been before. Surely, he wouldn't try anything here.

"And what is that exactly?" Her voice was much more confident that she felt.

"Come to the dance with me." It was more of a command than anything else. She didn't feel like she had much of a choice.

"No." She answered flatly.

"And why not? The only good excuse you would have is if you already had a date. And I know you don't. Ron is going with Lavender, Seamus with Parvati, Dean with Ginny, I mean, even Neville has a date for crying out loud. Who else is there?" Harry had an idea of who it might've been. But he prayed that it wouldn't be him. Harry still loved Hermione; he was just taking a different approach to getting her now.

Hermione knew she didn't have a date. But having a date was the only way she could get out of going with Harry. And going to the dance with Harry was definitely not what she wanted. She did know of one person who she did want to go with. But she didn't know if he'd want to go with her. He liked her, but would he ask her to the dance? "Yes, Harry, I do have a date, now if you'll excuse me," she pulled her hand out of his grasp, "I have notes to take."

Then she went back to her taking notes and listening to the lesson. After the lesson, she was planning on telling Draco what had happened in class. When they were dismissed, she grabbed her bag and hurried out the door. She was about to enter the Head Tower but she felt herself being pulled into a dark corner. "You don't have a date do you? If you did have one, you would have told me. You just are stalling so you can find a date so I can't take you," Harry hissed at her. '_Oh geez, he knows me way too well. I guess it was kind of predictable wasn't it_?' She didn't plan on giving in that easily though. If there was any way out of this, she was going to find it. "You're wrong Harry. I do have a date. And I'm very happy to be going with him." She was planning on telling Harry she was going with Draco and explain everything to him later on. She started to walk away but Harry grabbed her and pulled her back and she gave a small scream of pain as her back slammed against the wall.

Harry was more furious than he could ever remember being. Hermione was going with someone else. And there was only one person who it could have been. "WHO IS IT THEN!? WHO ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE WITH!?" He shouted angrily. She didn't respond. He raised his arm, seemingly about to smack her again. But he pulled his arm back in a different way and in the last second his flat palm balled into a tight fist. His fist was flying towards her face and right before it hit her, it stopped right where it was and another fist hit him hard in the face, causing him to fly backwards and onto the ground. She looked up and saw the one person who she had hoped to show up standing there smirking down at him.

"She's going with me Potter...you got a problem with it?" She heard the voice that used to make her skin crawl and now it was the voice that seemed to release an amazing amount of butterflies in her stomach. He had grabbed Harry's arm, thrown it back to his side, and then punched him hard in the jaw. She saw his face smirking down at Harry, who was a good 5 inches shorter than Draco at his 6 1 height and smiled brightly. The fact that she was about to be beaten by one of her best friends didn't matter anymore. He was here. She was looking at him and he finally met her gaze and smiled. "You alright Hermione?" She was about to respond when Harry's furious voice cut her off.

"OH so now you call her Hermione do you Malfoy?! What happened to the countless taunts and calling her mudblood huh?! Where'd that run off to?!" Draco cringed when he heard the word. He used to either snicker when he heard it or it had not fazed him at all. Now it hurt

him to know what pain he had put her through.

"Well then, I didn't know what a great person she was. And I didn't like her then either now did I?"

"WHAT?! You like her now? Does she know about this?" He glanced at Hermione.

"Yes, Harry, I know. And I like him too." She smiled at Draco and squeezed herself out of the corner between Harry and the wall and walked over to Draco. She stood next to him and he put a protective arm around her waist. "And, yes, Draco is my date to the dance." After she said this he have her a little squeeze. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd much rather spend my free time with someone who really cares about me than someone who wouldn't think twice before hitting me if I dared to anger him." With that, she and Draco walked back to their common room, leaving a very stunned Harry in their wake.

As soon as Hermione got inside the common room and the portrait was closed behind them, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She spun around to where Draco was standing behind her and collapsed into his arms. "Oh Draco, I'm so glad you came! I don't know what would have happened to me! He probably would've hit me till I agreed to come to the dance with him. Thank you SO much! You saved me from a bad date and probably a black eye." She rested her head on his chest and relaxed against him. After a moment of comfortable silence, she lifted her head and looked at him, "Draco...did you mean what you said? Are you really going to take me to the dance?"

Draco walked back to the common room, keeping his arm around her the whole time. When they walked in, he read Hermione sigh heavily and watched her spin around. He knew what was coming so he opened his arms just in time for her to fall into them. He listened as she thanked him. Although, all he really made out was "thank you" considering her voice was muffled since she was talking into his chest. After just standing there, very much enjoying having her in his arms, she looked up to him. "Draco...did you mean what you said? Are you really going to take me to the dance?" Draco had meant every word of it. He had planned on asking her anyways. Not just because he had to because of the bet, but because he really liked her and wanted to take her with him.

"I meant every word." He had responded. She smiled at him and he smiled down at her.

"Good. I was so worried that I'd have ended up having to go with him. You're the only person I wanted to go with." She looked at him for awhile and her eyes clouded over and she looked as if she was just staring at something over his shoulder. He watched her eyes flash with pain, then fear and anger. Then her eyes started to fill with tears.

"You alright Hermione?" He asked her, sounding very concerned.

"Yeah, I was just thinking. He was going to punch me...he used to be my best friend. I felt so safe around him and now I'm scared to be alone with him. For all I know, he could lash out at me at any minute." She felt the tears spill from her eyes and pour down her face and mentally cursed herself for being so soft. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek where her tears had been before. She looked up at him and gave him a little smile.

He watched as she vented about Harry. She was right. For all either of them knew, he could attack her at any time. But he was willing to do anything to keep him from doing it. "Don't you worry. I won't let anything happen to you." She smiled at his words and pulled away from him. The dance was this Friday, so she only had two days. And she didn't have anything to wear! The dance had a muggle theme so everyone was required to wear muggle clothing. She would have to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow.

Hermione was going to Hogsmeade today at free period. History of Magic was nearly over and then she'd be going. She listened as Professor Binns droned on for the last 15 minutes about the Troll War and then grabbed her bag and went to her common room to get ready. When she got there, Draco was already on the couch. He was sitting and reading and he flicked his eyes up at her than back at his book. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" She looked over at him and didn't answer. She ran into her room, changed into a pair of blue jeans and a maroon blouse and ran back into the common room. She ran towards the door, slinging her purse over her shoulder, and shouted back to him, "HOGSMEADE!"

Draco strutted back to the common room happily after telling Pansy and Blaise about Hermione. He left out that he had real feelings for her until Pansy had left. While he was telling her what was going on, her jaw had been dropped and she looked as if she had left it hanging open much longer she'd have flies making nice cozy homes in there. But Blaise, on the other hand, had been smirking the whole time. You could tell that he was happy for him because he really didn't want Draco to have to deal with pansy for the rest of the year. When pansy stormed off, he had turned to Blaise. "Dude, you gotta help me. I'm falling for her!"

"Yeah I know."

"What? How do you know this?"

"It's obvious. You're always looking at her and not to mention I heard the Gryffindors talking about how you had stood up for her." He raised his eyebrow at him. "Bet getting a little out of hand?"

"Well, I've been spending a lot of time with her, and she's a really cool girl. There's nothing not to like about her. I can't help it!"

"Dude, don't worry about it. Now you won't have to pretend. It'll come much easier now. You don't have to act or anything now. Just enjoy it. Enjoy her. She's a good-looking girl. And she's really seemed to come out of her shell since you've been hanging around her. Have fun with this." Then, he had walked away. But Draco realized how right he was. He would have no problem winning the bet now. He didn't have to pretend. So he walked back to the common room, plopped on the couch, and started to read. He had been reading for awhile but then she had burst into the room. When he had inquired as to where she was going, she hadn't responded. But after being in her room for a bit, she ran out and told him she was heading to Hogsmeade. He would have joined her but he had History of Magic essay due next period that he had yet to start on.

After getting ready, Hermione ran to Gryffindor common room to meet Parvati, Lavender, and Ginny. They were all going to go shopping for the dance and just have a girls' day. The only classes left in their day were DADA and Charms and Lupin and Flitwick had given them free periods to prepare for the dance the following night. She arrived at the portrait and was greeted by the fat lady. "Why hello dear! Haven't seen you around these parts lately. Where've you run off to?" Hermione smiled kindly at the portrait and told her about the new position as head girl she had achieved and then gave her the password to enter. "PARVATI! LAVENDER! GINNY! YOU GUYS READY?" She shouted up the stairs to the girls' dorms.

Ginny was the only one to reply. "Yeah! We'll be down in a minute Mione!" Hermione took a seat next to Seamus and talked to him for a few minutes before the girls finally came down. "Well, I'll see you later Seamus. Buh-bye!" The four of them set out for the trail to Hogsmeade chatting idly the whole way. Parvati was the first to ask what had been bothering all of Gryffindor for the past few days.

"So, um, Mione...What's going on with you and Malfoy?" Hermione hadn't been expecting this and it caught her way off guard.

"Oh, Draco? I, um...well..." She was trying to find a way to explain it shortly but ended telling them the whole story starting from the situation in the dungeons when he had first helped her to her feet. By the end of it, all three of them were jealous. They would say things like "Aww you are SO lucky Hermione!" or "Aww I wish I had a boyfriend!" They all believed every word of it and decided that they were going to make Hermione come fully out of her shell for this dance. Draco had fallen for the bookworm Hermione. The Hermione who had hidden all her curves underneath overly large sweaters and robes. They had decided amongst the three of them that they were going to make Malfoy see a whole new side of Hermione, they decided that she would look outstanding and that Malfoy wouldn't even believe it was her. They were going to do all this whether she liked it or not.

When they got to Hogsmeade they walked up to the new muggle clothing store. When they walked in, they all split up. They decided to meet by the dressing rooms in an hour to try on what they found and settle on what to by. Hermione went off to the left, lavender to the right, Parvati straight ahead, and Ginny went somewhere in between. Hermione went and found an ankle length jean skirt with a slit up to the knee and a black sweater and then headed to the dressing rooms. The other girls were already there and had pretty much the opposite of what Hermione had chosen. Parvati had chosen a tan knee length skirt with a modest slit up the mid-thigh, and a white, fitted blouse. Ginny picked a faded pink knee length skirt with a white spaghetti strapped shirt. Lavender had a jean skirt that went to around the middle of her shins but had a slit that went up to her mid thigh and a fitted maroon off the shoulders tee. When Hermione had showed them her outfit, they had actually started laughing. "No, no Hermione. That just simply won't do." Ginny had said. "Come on ladies; let's pick her a real outfit." Then they had dragged her back to the clothes and picked out an outfit that Hermione wouldn't have worn had they given her the choice. Her outfit consisted of an above the knee black skirt and a dark green tube top blouse. They had also bought her hoop earring, a black choker, and black boots. They had dragged her back to the castle and ignored her cries of "YOU DRESSED ME IN SLYTHERIN COLORS! I'M IN GRYFFINDOR NOT SLYTHERIN!" However, Hermione had no choice but to give in after they had put a silence charm on her so she showed them the way to the tower and told them how to get in. They needed to know this considering this was where they would meet their dates and they decided to get ready in Hermione's room.

When they had entered the common room, Draco and Blaise were sitting on the couch talking but had quieted themselves the second the portrait opened. Draco raised his eyebrows in interest after seeing Hermione's mouth moving but nothing coming out. After she had told them how to get in, they had put the silencing charm back on her knowing full well she'd start complaining again the second she got the chance. Ginny noticed Draco's look and said simply, "She didn't agree quite agree with the outfit we got her. Okay okay, she didn't like it at all. But I can promise you one thing Malfoy; you definitely are going to enjoy it." He smirked at this and laughed when he saw Hermione blushing. That definitely made him curious. Blaise, Draco, Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione all sat and talked for awhile but then Blaise, Parvati, and lavender said they had to go. Lavender, Blaise and Parvati had already gone but Ginny had stayed a little while afterwards and when she was about to leave she turned around, "See ya tomorrow Mione!" She said with a wink in Malfoy's direction. "Buh-bye Malfoy." Draco had spent a while talking to the little Weasley and realized she wasn't all that bad. When she was nearly through the portrait he called out to her, "GINNY!" She turned around, eyebrow raised. "It's Draco." She smiled at him and replied, "Alrighty, Buh-bye then _Draco_." Then she had left. Leaving Draco to his curiosity and Hermione to her embarrassment. After they left, they had sat in silence for awhile but then Hermione couldn't take it anymore. So she gave Draco's hand a little squeeze, smiled at him, and left for her dorm for the night. '_Bloody hell, what a day! I can't believe they're actually going to make me wear that!_' But she started to think about how Draco would react and fell asleep smiling, picturing his face, jaw dropped and eyes wide.

The next morning at breakfast, all the girls were chattering excitedly about the dance that night and all the boys...well...the boys were talking about Quidditch. They had all been talking but stopped immediately when Dumbledore stood up. "Good Morning all," he said a little too cheerfully for how early in the morning it was, "the professors and I have decided, that since today is the ball that all of you have been looking forward to for so long, all classes for today have been canceled so all you ladies can have all the time you need to get ready for tonight. Thank you for your time and have a great day." After that he sat down, it was quiet for a few seconds before deafening applause rang out through the great hall. Hermione rolled her eyes at the high-pitched girls and was about the go back to her breakfast when she felt herself being dragged from her seat out of the great hall. She was released just outside of the doors and looked up to her captors. "WE HAVE ALL DAY MIONE COME ON!" A very excited Ginny screamed. Then she, lavender and Parvati ran off in the direction of Head tower. Hermione reluctantly followed mumbling to herself about how she only need about 10 minutes to get ready, but when she got to there, she was proven wrong. She was only a few minutes behind them being that they ran the whole way, but in the few minutes between them, they had managed to have her room covered completely in hair care products and makeup. Hermione usually would just skip the makeup and put on her outfit but she didn't have that option this time. The moment she closed her bedroom door behind her, she was ambushed by the girls and attacked with brushes, hairspray, and eyeliner, and wasn't released from their grasp for a good 2 hours; and she wasn't even dressed yet. Hermione looked in the mirror and gasped at what she saw. Her hair was stick straight and since it was so straight it went well past her shoulders and went to about mid back. Her eyes were lined in black but it was thin and she had very thin green eye shadow on the very end of her eyelid and she had shiny lip gloss over her lips. She did enjoy the made up look but it had taken a long time to do and she didn't even know what everyone else would think of it. Ginny and the girls had gone on for what seemed like hours about how gorgeous she looked but soon she had grown tired of it and walked away.

Draco had decided on wearing black jeans and a white muscle tee for the dance and sat in the common room waiting for the girls to finish. They had been in there all day long giggling and laughing but he noticed that not once did he hear Hermione's voice in there. She must have been their victim. He was very curious about what she would look like and silently prayed that 7 o'clock would come quicker. He heard a knock on the portrait and with a flick of his wand; it swung open and revealed a bored looking Seamus Finnigan, an anxious Dean Thomas and a furious Weasley. They must have been Ginny, Lavender and Parvati's dates. They all sat in silence for awhile until Weasley broke the silence. "What have you been doing Malfoy!? Hermione would never in her right mind like you let alone go to the dance with you! What did you do to her?!" Draco laughed lightly. He hadn't done anything to her. He had only been nice and she'd fallen for him. Well, he really didn't have room to talk; she hadn't been the only one doing the falling. "Look, Weasley, I didn't do anything to her. And I don't plan to. I really like her, honest I do, and I would never dream of doing anything to hurt her. I know we've been enemies for as long as I can remember and I don't blame you if you don't want to be friends. But, I know it would kill Hermione for us to be fighting when she and I are together. So, if you agree, I'll be willing to make a truce." Then, he took a deep breath and held out his hand. Ron was taken aback by his proposal at first, but then, after a minute, looked as if he was seriously considering this. Hermione was his best friend and if making a truce with Malfoy would make her happy, then he was willing to do it. He took Malfoy's hand and they shook, making a silent agreement not to fight anymore, at least not when she was around. They were quiet after that and it was starting to get uncomfortable but then they heard Hermione's door open and they all looked up.

Hermione was ready. She looked in the mirror. She really liked this new look. She was wearing her black mini skirt and green shirt, her black choker, earrings, and her new black boots. This wasn't something that she was used to but she didn't mind it all that much. She couldn't wait to see the look on Draco's face. Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati were going first. They insisted on giving Hermione a little introduction before she came down. Ginny was reaching for the doorknob but Hermione stopped her, "Gin! Wait, listen." The four of them stopped and listen to Ron yell. They practically had to hold Hermione back so she didn't go out there and tell Ron that nothing was wrong with her, but she didn't have to. Draco did that himself. Not only did he explain that to him, he proposed a truce; and Ron accepted. Hermione was so happy. Maybe with Ron on his side, he could help convince Harry. Lavender and Parvati were really excited for the dance so they walked up to the door. "I'm going out there," Lavender said, and she opened the door.

When they heard the door open, they all looked up and Ron gasped and smiled. Lavender was standing in the doorway in her jean skirt and maroon blouse. Her long brown, usually straight hair was very curly and she was wearing large hoop earrings. Ron walked up to her and put out his hand, she smiled and took it and they walked back to the guys. Seamus stepped forward when he saw Parvati. She was all set with her tan skirt and white shirt. She had a white choker on and diamond stud earrings. Seamus gave her a big smile walked up and offered her arm, which she gladly took. They too walked back to the rest. Next was Ginny, she walked out in her pink shirt and white shirt, flashed them all a smile, did a little twirl and walked up to Dean smiling. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked back to the doorway. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to present to you, Parvati, Lavender's, and my masterpiece of the night. She simply refused to wear the outfit we picked for her. In her words it was just 'too slutty and most definitely the wrong colors' but we finally convinced her. Now, Mr. Malfoy, I believe you will especially enjoy her ensemble, and I expect plenty of thanks after the dance for this. Now, I've made you wait long enough, I'd like to present to you, the new and improved, Miss Hermione Grangerrrrr!!" She rambled on for a minute before finally introducing her. She moved out of the doorway she was blocking to reveal a very beautiful Hermione. Draco's jaw dropped when he saw her. '_Slytherin colors...nice_' He thought to himself. She was wearing black mini skirt and dark green shirt, with knee high boots and a black choker. Her hair was straightened and her makeup was done. Draco just stared. She walked up to him smiling. "You like?" Then she gave him a seductive wink. Ginny had told her to have a little fun and tease him a bit. So, she decided to do it. He leaned in and right before the lips touched, she did what she did with Goyle. Minus the violence obviously. She moved her face to the side and whispered something in his ear. He grinned goofily and nodded. "So? What do you think?" She asked him finally.

He smiled at her, "You look...amazing." He extended his hand and she took it. Ginny, being the lively one of the bunch, dragged Dean up to the Portrait and yelled to them, "COME ONNNN LETS GET GOINNNNNNG!" She bounced out the door and everyone followed them, laughing at her never-ending liveliness. When they got there, the dance had already started. The house tables were gone but there were small tables in the corners where groups of people were sitting. The group walked over to a table and took a seat. They sat and talked about random things until a slow song came on. Each guy took their respected date onto the dance floor. Draco and Hermione walked hand in hand onto the dance floor. They picked a spot in the middle of the dance floor and she put her hands around his neck and he put his around her waist. He pulled her close enough so that her body was against his. She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his head against hers. They danced to the slow music for awhile before Hermione pulled back and looked up at Draco. "Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"What do I do if Harry comes after me again?"

"Don't even worry about it. So long as you're with me, I'll make sure nothing happens to you," he replied with a sincere smile. Hermione smiled at him. It was so comforting knowing that she had Draco to stand by her. She knew that he would protect her. Even though she had only liked him for about two weeks she had amazing confidence in him. She was here now looking in his eyes, and there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

Draco looked down at her. He had the strongest urge to kiss her. Should he do it? He didn't know if she'd kiss back or if she'd even go for it. For all he knew she could pull back or even slap him. But he'd have to risk it. He had the urge to kiss her and when a Malfoy had wanted something, they went for it. And right now, all he wanted was her. He looked down at her, smiled, and leaned in...

Hermione was so happy with him. She wished that he would kiss her. But what if he didn't even want to kiss her? She decided she was going to wait until he made the move, she didn't want to risk him moving away. But wait...what if he thought she didn't want to kiss her? Whoaaaa, she was obviously wrong...he was leaning in. '_YES_!' She closed her eyes and went up on her tip toes to get to him. They were just about to reach each other when a sickening crack rang through her ears and she felt Draco letting go of her. She opened her eyes and saw Draco flying backwards. She looked behind her and saw Harry standing there, smirking down at Draco, who was now holding his hand to his bleeding jaw.


	4. No Choice

A:N Thank you SO much everyone who reviewed. IT makes me so happy hearing that you guys are obsessed with my story. You have no idea how high pitched I got when I saw the reviews. Oh... and by the way, any of you who want Harry to get beat up...don't you worry... he's gonna get it eventually. And Draco's not gonna be the only one to do it. Other people are going to help...not gonna say who... but u'll see... If you're reading this....review... or if you have already... KEEP REVIEWING! Because then I know people are reading it and I'll keep writing... cuz if no one reviews, I'll think no ones reading it and there'll be no reason to keep writing so I won't.. But I love hearing from you... and if you don't like something about it, please PLEASE let me know so I can fix it and keep from doing it again... I love you alllllllllll )

3

"HARRY POTTER!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Draco was just about to reach her when he felt a fist plant itself firmly on his jaw. He felt it break and fell backwards. He heard Hermione yelling at Potter and knew it had to be him who had hit him. He opened his eyes in time to see Harry shove Hermione to the floor and round on him again. He looked up at potter's angry face. He saw Potter's foot go back and then felt it meet his ribs and felt the air rush out of him. He felt himself being pulled to his feet and then felt Potter's fist meet his face again and then his stomach, and then everything went black.

Hermione ran to Harry yelling for him to stop. He turned to her and pushed her back with such force that she fell to the ground. She saw Harry go back to Draco and kick him and punch him mercilessly. She watched in horror as Draco fell bleeding to the ground and then felt her blood boil. She was more upset than she could ever remember being. It was a mix of fear, anger, and worry. She ran to Harry and slapped him hard in the face. He turned to her with such anger in her eyes that it terrified her. She moved back a few strides and she kept moving towards her. He was about to reach her when she whipped out her wand, "_Petrificus Totalus_!" Harry fell frozen to the floor; she put her wand back in her pocket and ran to Draco. She fell to her knees beside him and just looked at his motionless body. The whole dance was at a standstill and had been watching the scene. She grabbed Draco's shoulders and shook them. "Draco! DRACO!!" She kept shaking him, willing him to wake up...he didn't. She felt her eyes stinging with tears. She prayed silently that she hadn't lost him. She doubted he would die from just that, but replaying the beating in her head, she wouldn't be surprised. She saw him get punched twice in the face, and then kicked countless times the length of his body. The sight before the student body was pitiful. Hermione Granger, always so strong, calm and collected was sitting in the middle of the floor, tears streaming down her face, rocking back and forth. She had Draco's head in her lap and was stroking his hair, mumbling under her breath what most people assumed what a prayer that he would be alright. Suddenly, the great hall doors burst open and madam pomfrey rushed in. She ran to Hermione. "What has happened here?!"

"We were just...you see...Harry, he..." She trailed off, knowing that she wouldn't be able to repeat the ordeal again and pointed meekly towards Harry who was still frozen on the ground, shaking in fury. Madam Pomfrey looked around in confusion but then Lavender walked up and told her everything, but not before harshly kicking Harry on her way towards them. Pomfrey looked disapprovingly at Harry, shook her head, then took the spell off of him and sent him to McGonagall for his punishment. She then levitated the unconscious Draco and headed to the hospital wing with a very worried Hermione at her heels.

Hermione paced back and forth outside the curtain that separated her from Draco. She had seen Madam Pomfrey before she had been shut out and all she did was give Hermione a sad look and shake her head. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the curtains were pulled back. Madam Pomfrey walked up and pulled Hermione aside. "Look Miss Granger, I can fix him easy enough, but it's going to take quite a long time. He's going to be in here for awhile."

"Well, what's wrong with him?"

"Mr. Potter's kicks split his ribs and one of the bones punctured his lung. His breathing is very shallow and it pains him to do it. He is awake now but in a lot of pain. I highly suggest you have a talk with Potter about this. Whatever you did, or were about to do, angered him greatly, and had you not been there to stop him, I'm sure Mr. Malfoy here would be dead." She let Hermione in and what she saw stopped her. Draco was much paler than usual and had a thin coat of sweat on his brow. His chest was moving rapidly with his quick shallow breaths and he winced with nearly every breath he took. "Oh God! Draco!" She ran over to him and sat down with him. She ran her hands through his hair and looked at him. "Draco, are you ok?"

"Never better," he replied. It must have hurt him to speak because after responding he drew in a sharp ragged breath and then winced in pain. It killed Hermione to see him like this. He had always been such a strong person. She looked at him and smiled sadly. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. As she was straightening up, Draco lifted his arm and put his hand on her cheek, stopping her. He led her back down and their lips met. Hermione put her hands on either side of him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss. They kissed for a bit before she pulled back and smiled shyly at him, biting her lip. He smirked back at her, "First kiss, Hermione?"

She blushed a little, "No, the little teaser you gave me back in the common room was..."

"Oh, sorry bout that. Had I known that'd be your first I'd have made it more memorable." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, well this time it was plenty memorable..." She was now blushing furiously and stood up. "I bet you've done that tons of times haven't you...I was bad wasn't I!" She seemed awfully nervous; she was wringing her hands and pacing up and down the length of the bed. He grabbed her hand and forced her to sit back down.

"Look Hermione, I've only kissed one other girl than you. And it was pansy. Yes, we kissed, but it was terrible. The whole time we kissed, I had been thinking 'ew ew ew ew ew ew'." Hermione laughed lightly at this. "Not to mention, there was no feeling behind our kisses, it was just her seeing how far she could get with me, and believe me, she never got very far. I always pulled away after like 20 seconds because I felt that if I happened to stay too much longer I might just throw up in her mouth." He stopped and laughed with Hermione then continued. "But with you, it's different, with you...it's bloody brilliant," he finished at last.

Hermione was very nervous about what had just happened. What if she had been bad? That would definitely suck. She just didn't want him to find out that it was her first kiss. Well, practically her first. Her real first had been when he gave her a small one in the common room. She really didn't care actually, as long as he didn't find out. She groaned inwardly when he asked her if it was her first kiss. He had probably kissed millions of girls. Ok, nevermind, she was wrong, only pansy. She laughed out loud, she could just picture Draco kissing pansy and all the while Draco, "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew." Maybe it wasn't all that bad. She had only been the second girl he kissed and if pansy was bad than it wasn't such a terrible situation. She smiled down after he called her kiss bloody brilliant and leaned in again. If this was bloody brilliant, they should do it more often. Their lips had just touched and he had begun to snake his arms around her waist, when the hospital wing door crashed open and a very angry Harry Potter stormed in and saw them kissing. They pulled away and looked at him, he was looking more furious than ever. "You're dead Draco Malfoy..." And he started towards them, wand at the ready.

Draco had already been in bad shape and was in no state to duel so Hermione stepped in between them. "Hermione MOVE!" Harry shouted at her although he was still moving towards them. Hermione drew her wand and pointed it at Harry, "Harry potter I have half a mind to attack you after what you just did to Draco so if I were you I'd leave...now." This didn't seem to affect Harry at all, he just kept moving towards them. Hermione had no choice but to throw a spell at him now. The thought of harming Harry never crossed her mind; she just wanted to keep him away from Draco. So she cast the first charm that came into her head; a tickling charm. Harry doubled over in hysterical laughter. He dropped his wand and clutched his now aching stomach. "_Accio_!" Hermione yelled and Harry's wand flew from its position on the floor of the hospital wing and into Hermione's outstretched hand. "Now, Harry, you know full well I know many more spells than you. Now...please...just hear me out..." She lifted the tickling charm and waited for his response. Harry just glared at her. After a minute, his expression softened and he took a deep breath. "Ok, let's hear it..." Then he sat right where he was on the ground and waited patiently for her to talk.

"Okay, well, a little while ago, Draco started to be a little nicer to me. I don't know why he did it, and I still don't, but I got used to it. I really started to enjoy his company. Then, you started to be aggressive towards me and he protected me. I am willing to forgive you for lashing out at me as long as you can accept that Draco and I are no longer enemies. If you decide not to accept this, then I guess that makes us no longer friends. Because I've had a really hard time lately and he was there for me. You were my best friend and right when I needed you most, you decided it was necessary to tell me you love me, than explode when I said I didn't feel the same way! Well, all I'm saying is that Draco and I are friends now and if you can't accept it...then we won't be..." She stopped and waited for a minute before Harry started to walk towards her. She held up her wand, ready in case he reacted badly. But when Harry reached her, he just stood their glaring for a minute. She lowered her wand a little and Harry took advantage of it. He snatched his wand out of her hand with amazing speed and put it at her throat. Draco stood up quickly and, ignoring the pain searing through his chest, placed himself in between the two.

Harry listened as Hermione told him about her and Malfoy. It made him angrier than ever. He had walked in on them kissing which had made him angry enough and now... now Hermione was telling him she and Malfoy were friends and that if he didn't accept it, he and Hermione wouldn't be?! This was bloody crazy. He didn't care anymore. Screw Hermione, if he couldn't have her, no one could. He moved in on her and grabbed his wand. On impulse, he put it right to her throat. She gasped when he did it, and then regained her composure. She had never seen him like this. She had seen him angry before yes, but not to the point where he would put his wand to his best friend's throat. "Harry," her voice quivered, "what has gotten into you?"

He smirked cruelly at her. "Well, Hermione, I was upset when you told me you didn't love me. Obviously. Well, Ron approached me and told me about his and Malfoy's little truce. I was going to consider. I mean, if Ron could do it, I could. Ron has the shortest temper ever. So, I thought I'd find you two and apologize to the both of you. But when I found you, you were about to kiss. Now that just pushed me over the edge. So I gave Draco what he deserved. But you, Hermione, Oh, I haven't even BEGUN to start with you." He pushed Draco, who had stood in between them, aside, and pointed his wand at Hermione's chest. She was breathing very fast now and her face was etched with unmasked fear. Her eyes were welling with tears as she imagined the terrible things he could do to her. Harry started to mumble something under his breath. Hermione looked at Draco who had fallen on the ground when Harry had pushed him and was now breathing very rapidly. How she wished Harry could go away so she could help him. She turned her attention back to Harry and panicked when she heard him very clearly start to say the Cruciatus Curse, "Cruci--Whaa?" Harry spun towards the hospital wing door which had just slammed open. Blaise and Ron were running towards them. Blaise ran to Draco and helped him up and Ron placed himself firmly between Harry and the now trembling Hermione. Ron stared hard at Harry, "Harry!! What are you doing?!"

"Teaching her a lesson. She should know better than to go screwing around with a Malfoy." Harry said calmly. After he said this, Hermione gasped and Draco made for Harry but was held back by Blaise. Ron looked at him in disbelief. "Dude, she's not just "screwing around" with him. They both really like each other! And I've come to accept it...and I'm the one with the temper here. If I can accept this, than you should have no problem accepting it."

"ACCEPT IT!? You actually want me to accept it?! I can't believe you've even accepted it!"

"Of course I've accepted it! This is Hermione; she knows what's good for her. And as much as I hate to say this...I know Mal--...Draco wouldn't let any harm come to her. He really cares about her."

"Yeah right. He doesn't care for her. He's only in it for the sex! Like with all his other whores! Hermione's just next on his list! I don't care what you say, Ron, there's no way I'm going to accept that Hermione's Malfoy's new WHORE!!!!" Harry immediately regretted speaking these words because after he did, he got a hard punch in the face from Ron, another punch from Draco, and a kick in the crotch from Hermione. After she did that she sank into the bed and started crying. Draco and Ron were both trying to comfort her while Blaise did something he never thought he'd do. He had always been one of Draco's friends, and for that, people always assumed he was a pureblooded jerk who looked down on everyone. His parents were deatheaters, yes, but he had every intention of leaving the family first chance he got. It always sort of bothered him when people tormented the golden trio, because, truthfully, they had saved the lives of many people several times and they deserved more gratitude than that. He especially was grateful to Harry. When Blaise was a kid, his parents were very powerful wizards that, like the Potters, refused to join up. Blaise recently found out that his parents were next on Voldemort's list. So he was grateful in so many ways to Harry, because it was because of him, that he and his parents were alive today, even if his parents had somewhere along the line become deatheaters. But seeing this side of Harry, he lost all respect he had for him. He had just seen him nearly attack his best friend, and then call her a whore. Now, he stood, looking down at him in disgust. Harry spat blood on the floor and Blaise found himself smirking at him. Harry looked up at him and glared. "What the hell are you smirking at Zambini?!"

Blaise just kept smirking and finally responded, "Because the famous Harry Potter just showed his true self. This girl," he motioned towards Hermione, who was just started to calm down, "has done nothing but stick by you all these years. I've seen it myself. She was the only one who believed that you didn't put your name in the goblet fourth year, and she was the one who helped you through all of your tasks. She stuck by you the whole time. She has done countless things for you and _this _is how you repay her?! By nearly attacking her and then calling her a whore?! You're the one who's supposed to save our world from the Dark Lord, Potter. You're the one who's supposed to kill him in the end. Now I've seen the real you. And if it's _this_ kind of person everyone's expecting to save us...God help us all. You're hopeless..." He shook his head at Harry and turned to Hermione. "Don't you worry about him, Hermione. Draco's told me what a great girl you are, and if what he's saying is true...he doesn't deserve you anyways." Then he smiled at the three of them, gave Harry another look that clearly said "You disgust me" and left the hospital wing.

Hermione was glaring Harry while sitting on the bed. She had Ron and Draco on each side of her comforting her in their own ways. She gently brushed them both of and stood up. She walked up to Harry and stood in front of him. It was amazing how when she was inches shorter than Harry, that she could still look so intimidating. A flicker of fear flashed through Harry's eyes when Hermione reached inside her robe. She pulled out her wand and held it at his chin. Draco smirked, enjoying seeing Harry in the same position he himself had been in a few years prior. Ron picked up on this too... he smiled at Draco and than turned to Hermione, "Hermione, no! He's not worth it..." He trailed off hoping Hermione would catch on. She lowered her wand and glanced at Draco. She smirked at him and spun around, punching Harry hard in the jaw. Harry stumbled backwards and gave Hermione an incredulous look before turning and leaving the hospital wing with 3 more punches and a kick more than he arrived with. Hermione turned towards them and smiled triumphantly. "That felt good..." Ron smiled at her and replied...

"Not good...brilliant!"

Ron told Draco and Hermione that he'd talk to Harry and left the hospital wing after him, leaving them alone once again. Draco was on the bed with his eyes closed, but was awake and just relaxing. Hermione settled herself on the bed next to him and watched him. A strand lock of blonde hair fell into his eyes and she reached to brush it aside. When her finger brushed against his cheek, he opened one eye, looked at her, and then closed it again. She smiled at him and saw a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, making her laugh. She leaned in and briefly brushed her lips against his own. She was going to leave it at that but she had no choice but to prolong it because the second their lips touched, he put his hand to her neck and pulled her closer. They went on like this for a few minutes in a hardcore snog.

After awhile of this, Hermione pulled away, "I have to go, Draco." She said sadly. She gave him one last peck on the cheek and started to walk out. She was stopped rather abruptly and stumbled a bit when Draco wouldn't let go of her hand. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "I don't want to leave you either." She pulled her hand from his, put both hands on his cheeks, gave him a kiss, and left the hospital wing.

Potions the following day

"For the next few weeks, we will be working on making the polyjuice potion. I am going to be putting you all with a partner and you will work with this person not only for this project, but for the remaining projects of this year. Now, when I give you your partner, sit with them, and begin gathering ingredients. Alright...Zambini, Weasley...Parkinson, Potter...Bulstrode, Finnigan...Malfoy, Granger...Oh, Miss Granger, considering your partner won't be available to you, you can come down to my office tonight at... "He turned towards Harry, "what time would you say your detention with me will be through?" Harry glared, "8," he replied through gritted teeth. Snape smirked at him, and then turned back to Hermione. "Eight o'clock Miss Granger. I will see you then." He then continued on to with the list. Hermione read over the ingredients for the polyjuice potion. It really was more of a review for her. She, Ron, and Harry had made the potion in only their second year and it had been very successful...well...except for afterwards, one of them had a tail, but other than that it went perfectly!

7:50 that night

Hermione was sitting in the common room doing homework, thinking about tonight. She was going to have to spend awhile alone with Snape to learn something she'd known since second year. How very pointless. She glanced over at the clock and realized that she had just enough time to get down to the dungeons. So, she picked up her potions book and cauldron and made her way to the dungeons.

She was a corridor a few turns from Snape's office when she heard footsteps coming from around the corner. She drew her wand and pointed it in front of her. She lit the hallway with a resounding, '_LUMOS_!" She saw the figure of a person approaching her and continued to walk forward. The person was slowly coming into view...tall, messy hair, glasses.....Harry...

She continued to walk towards him until they were standing not a foot apart. She was shooting him a hate-filled glare while Harry stared at his feet, shifting nervously. "Harry." She said coldly.

"Look, Hermione, come on...I don't want to be like this. Can I talk to you?"

"Go ahead."

"No I mean like," he glanced around the corridor and spotted an empty classroom, "in private."

"Oh, you mean away from all the prying eyes?" She said sarcastically gesturing around her at the empty hallway. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood, waiting for him to respond.

"Hermione, come on, let's not be irrational. Just...come on..." He started to walk into the empty classroom. Hermione just watched him, with no intention of following. Harry stopped walking once he reached the doorway and turned towards her. He had a look on his face that made Hermione want to give him a big hug. He was giving her the puppy dog eyes and the pouty lip that he used to use to get her to let him copy her homework. She had yet to resist it. She stared hard, trying so hard not to crack. She through her hands in the air and huffed, "FINE!" She then pushed past him into the empty classroom.

She got walked past him, putting a very generous amount of space in between them, and turned around. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him, "Well?!" He walked up to her, and being that she was determined to not let him anywhere too near her, she walked backwards. She continued to move away until she backed into a wall. "Harry, stop cornering me!! JUST TALK!!!" He stopped where he was and leaned casually against the wall, smirking. He reminded her immensely of a certain blonde haired slytherin. Just the thought of him made her smile. Thinking about being with him and having him to back her up gave her strength. When he didn't respond, she broke the silence, "Well, Potter? You got anything to say or are you we just going to stand her and stare. Because I have somewhere to be. Although it is just to meet with Snape, I find even that more productive and enjoyable than this." Harry eyes flashed angrily...but then, he went unusually calm.

"Hermione, Ron talked to me. He told me that you and Malfoy were together... and happy together. He told me I needed to accept it. That if I didn't, we wouldn't be friends anymore. When I told him that I just found it so hard to believe I'd never have you, that you'd never love me, he told me that I had to deal with it, that that was yet another thing I had to accept. Well, I was thinking. I have been so kind to you all these years. I've been your best friend. I've given you every reason to love me. There's nothing about our relationship that goes against our moving further. So, I was thinking, if you won't love me on your own...well, let's just say, I'm not going to give you much of a choice." As he was speaking he had been moving closer, now he was only inches from her and speaking in a deathly quiet whisper. Hermione just glared. He wouldn't ever try anything here. They slytherin common room was a few doors down, and someone would surely hear. If not to save her, they'd come to watch, and then Harry would surely stop.

Harry slowly lifted his arms and paused. Then, very quickly, he slammed his arms into her shoulders, pushing her into a wall. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and attacked her lips savagely with his own. He moved his lips aggressively and bit down hard on her bottom lip, causing it to bleed. She screamed in pain and shoved him backwards. He stumbled back a few feet, giving her an opening. She sprinted for the door and was about to sprint down the hallway when she felt immense pressure on her back, sending her flying into the opposite wall. She slammed into the corridor and felt a tight grip on her shoulders; she felt fingers digging into her skin, spinning her around so she was facing her attacker. Harry stood in front of her, once again, her pinned to the wall. He smiled at her for a moment, before it vanished completely and was replaced by a stare. A stare completely blank save for the hint of lust that flashed quickly through his eyes. He set his hands on her shoulders and gripped her robes tightly. "Harry, please, don't do this..." She whispered, her voice quivering, threatening to crack. He smiled evilly at her, "You've given me no choice..."

He then pulled his arms away from her body, taking her robes with him...


	5. Unexpected Rescuer

KEEP REVIEWINGGGGGG I LOVE YOU ALLLLL!!!!!!!

Hermione kicked and punched to the best of her ability as Harry kissed her, his hands exploring every inch of her body. Harry had always been her best friend, and here he was, taking advantage of her. She felt tears pour down her face as his hands reached up her shirt. She hoped that he would realize what he was doing and stop. He did realize what he was doing, he didn't, however, stop. He looked up at her and smirked, "This is very difficult with this in the way, "he tugged on her shirt a bit, "I should fix that." He then tore her shirt off of her and tossed it aside. She was now standing there in the middle of the dungeons, crying and screaming, with nothing on but a lacy bra and the short shorts she usually wore under her robes. She tried desperately to cover herself up, but to no affect. He yanked her arms away from her body and held them above her head. He kissed her hungrily once more and then moved and began sucking on her neck. Hermione knew that would leave a mark and had no idea how she would explain it to Draco. She tried kneeing him several times and after getting one successful hit, he doubled over. She made a break for it but only landed herself in a worse position than before. Just seconds before, Harry had her pinned against the wall and now, he had tackled her from behind and was straddling her in the middle of the corridor. She knew that she had gotten herself into real trouble now. Harry flipped her over and straddled her in a way where her hands were pinned under her body. She had no way out. Her whole body ached from his roughness and her lip was bleeding profusely from the multiple times he had bitten her. She gave up on fighting him and just resorted to screaming.

"HELP ME! ANYONE! PLEASE!! HELP ME!!!" Harry's eyes widened when she started shouting and he quickly covered her mouth only to pull his hand quickly away when she bit him hard. "Listen Granger, you can keep this up or you can just give in. I don't have to be the only one participating here. This could be much more enjoyable for you, ya know." Hermione's fear and sadness faded ask quickly as it had come and was replaced by startling rage. She glared at him, "I would rather die a thousand deaths than give myself to you, you pathetic excuse for a wizard!" She then mustered all the courage she could and spit right in Harry's face. Harry's eyes flashed dangerously and she knew that was a mistake. But she didn't regret it at all, nor would she take it back. Harry punched her hard in the face, causing a small cut to form and her cheek to begin to bleed. She cried out in pain. Harry once again went back to feeling her up, and kissing every available part of her body. She was squirming underneath his weight, trying to escape. His weight was actually making it hard for her to breath. He was sitting right on her stomach. Suddenly, she felt his weight vanish from her body. She inhaled her breath sharply and began to breathe in short sharp spurts. She was crying uncontrollably and shaking, both from fear, and from the fact that she was in the already cold dungeons wearing nothing but shorts and a bra. She looked up and saw Harry pinned to the wall, terror visible in his eyes. And pinning him to the wall was none other than Professor Severus Snape, his wand jammed to Harry's throat. "Just _what_ do you think you're doing Mr. Potter?" He hissed. Harry didn't speak. Hermione shifted herself into a sitting position and moved against the wall. She was hugging herself tightly, watching what was happening. When Harry didn't respond, Snape ripped him from the wall and through him to the ground. He glared down at Harry and spoke, "And I thought your father was the arrogant one. Clearly, I was wrong. Your father would often attack others to show off, yes, but _never_ would he do this to one of his best friends. Your parents would be ashamed of you...and I thought you could sink no lower..." He stooped down and grabbed him by the collar, and shoved him hard sending him flying down the hallways. "Get out of my sight, or the nickname The-Boy-Who-Lived will no longer describe you." Harry sent one last glare in Snape's direction and a wink in Hermione's before sprinting off down the hallway. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and tried her very best to block out what had just happened to her. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself, tears pouring down her bleeding face. She sat there for a moment before she felt something warm around her. She opened her eyes and saw there was a cloak around her shoulders. She looked up and saw Snape standing above her...cloakless. She was a little startled by his kind gesture but gratefully accepted it. She pulled the cloak more comfortably around her shoulders and curled up in a ball on the floor.

She tried hard to regulate her breathing but soon found it impossible. She was still cold and was terrified beyond all reason. She was feeling a little better now, obviously, because it was all over. But, she still was nowhere near grasping what had just happened to her. She was lost in her thoughts when an unusually soft voice pulled her away from them. "Miss Granger?" She looked up. Snape was kneeling next to her, his face surprisingly soft, with an unmasked look of concern clouding his eyes. She looked down at herself and pulled the cloak closer to her. "Are you alright?"

She glanced back at him and responded meekly, "...No." She then broke down once more, crying. "Miss Granger I'd like to take you to the hospital wing." Her cries softened a bit and she nodded weakly. She pulled herself to her knees and began to struggle to get to her feet. Her body was weak and sore from struggling. She felt an arm go around her waist and help her to her feet. She looked over and saw Snape standing next to her, supporting her while she tried to walk. She was taken aback by his kindness but soon got over it and accepted his help. She leaned on him a bit and started to limp towards the stairs out of the dungeon. They continued to walk on in silence before Snape broke it. "Oh dear," he said vaguely. She looked up at him and saw him looking straight forward and followed his gaze...to the stairs. There were at least two flights of steps going up and out of the dungeons. "Do you think you can make it?" She looked up the steps.

"Yes, I think I'll be able to do it." She started to walk up the steps, still leaning on her potions master. Near the top of the first flight she stepped on a step wrong and fell, twisting her ankle badly on the way down. She screamed pain and started falling. She was just about to hit the ground when she felt Snape's arms catch her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes...yes I'm fine." She went to stand again but as soon as weight was put on her now twisted right ankle, a searing pain shot up her leg, causing her to shout out and fall once more. "Ok, obviously I'm not." She said, laughing nervously. He smirked at her and replied, "Look Miss Granger, you clearly need help up the steps. I plan on helping you, but this stays between us, is that clear?" Hermione smiled at Snape, something she thought she'd never do, and then nodded, "Crystal." He then put his arm around his shoulder and scooped her off the ground with ease. He carried her up the remaining flights of stairs and down the corridor towards the hospital wing, mentally praying that they wouldn't run into any students. He reached the large double doors and kicked them open with his foot. Inside, Hermione saw Draco sitting on the edge of his bed, talking to none other than Ron Weasley. They looked they were having a civil conversation too. They were talking to each other, with a smile or a nod somewhere in between. She even saw Draco laugh. Snape took a few steps forward and cleared his throat loudly. Draco turned his head towards him and his smile immediately faded and was replaced but a frown. Ron stood up and ran towards them. Snape set Hermione on the ground and she collapsed into Ron's arms. As she hugged her best friend, all the memories came flooding back and she fell into another wave of tears. Ron held her and rubbed her back, whispering in her ear, telling her everything would be ok. "What happened, Mione?" He asked her lightly. She pulled back and looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak and immediately closed it again. She turned around and looked at Snape, who was standing in the doorway, his usual blank expression once again upon his face. "S-sir," she said weakly, "can you tell them?" His face softened again, "Of course Miss Granger." Hermione limped over to Draco, with the help of Ron, and sat next to him. Draco looked at her and felt his blood boil. Someone had done this to her. Here she was, in Snape's cloak, with a bleeding lip, and bruise on her cheek with a small bloody cut in the middle of it. The cloak fell open a bit and what he saw angered him even more. She was only wearing a bra and had bruises on her body and a fresh hickey on her neck. "Who did this to you?" He asked in a dangerous whisper.

"If I may, Mr. Malfoy, this, "he gestured to Hermione, "is the work of one Mr. Harry Potter." Ron's eyes widened and he stood up. "WHAT!?"

"Now, now, Mr. Weasley, calm down. Let me tell you what I saw." He then recalled his experience of going out to look for Hermione. He explained that he had been expecting her at 8 and it was 8:15 and she hadn't shown up. He knew she was never late for classes so he decided to go out looking for her. He took the path he knew she'd take to come down and heard screams. He turned down a dark corridor and saw two figures against the wall. One pinning the other. The pinned one seemed to be struggling. He saw the smaller of the two people knee the latter and start to run. It was when the larger of the two tackled the other that he decided to take action. As he got closer, the two people came into view. Hermione and Harry. He said that he was surprised to see them doing this when he knew very well that something was going on with Draco and Hermione. Apparently all the professors knew about it. When he saw Hermione's bleeding, tear streaked face; he knew immediately what was happening. He explained how he had threatened Harry and Hermione was not at all surprised to see a smirk form on Draco's face. She was surprised, however, when Ron snorted and started laughing and tried his hardest to cover his laughs with a cough. Hermione had to smile at this. How she loved this kid. He was her best friend and she didn't know what she'd do without him. Snape finished with him carrying her to the hospital. He did the same thing with Draco and Ron that he had done with Hermione, making them promise to keep their mouths shut. Somewhere in Snape's speech Draco had wrapped his arms around Hermione and was now holding her tightly, afraid to let go. He was so angry at himself. '_I promised myself I'd protect her! And here she is...in the hospital, after getting raped and beating by Harry Potter!" _

Draco stood up and stormed towards the door but had to stop when snape put his arm out in front of him. "Don't do anything you're going to regret, Mr. Malfoy."

"Not regret?! How can I not regret it?! He nearly raped my frickin girlfriend! I'm gonna kill him!" He then pushed past snape and out the door. Snape ran after him and after a minute, dragged a complaining Draco back in. Draco stomped back the bed and plopped next to Hermione. He put his arm around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Hermione I am SO sorry! I promised myself I wouldn't let anything happen to you!" Hermione looked up at him and smiled. "Don't worry Draco, I survived didn't I?" He looked down at her frowning. "Yes, but that's only because Snape here showed up..."

Snape watched as his prize student embraced his...well...not so prized student. He couldn't help himself...he smiled. Hermione was his top student, but being that she was in Gryffindor, he couldn't label her his favorite. He listened to them talk to each other and then when Draco finished, he spoke up. "Mr. Weasley. Go down to the slytherin common room and bring up Blaise. The password is pureblood." Ron nodded and left the hospital wing. Snape turned to the couple, "Miss Granger, I assure you Mr. Potter will be punished in full for what he has done. And I also will assure you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you never have to deal with him again." Hermione once again found herself smiling at the man she used to hate with a passion, and now found herself getting more and more attached to.

"Thank you so much Professor, that means a lot to me." Hermione leaned into Draco's arms and rested her head on his shoulder. She breathed a contented sigh and finally began to grasp what had just happened. Harry had attempted to rape her, snape had saved her, and now she was in Draco's arms. A few minutes later, Ron returned with a concerned looking Blaise following him.

Snape turned to them and spoke. "Listen, Mr. Malfoy, I know that you and Miss Granger are together now, and that you want to protect her however you can, but being that you're a prisoner in the hospital wing for the next few weeks, I'm going to arrange something. Weasley, Zambini, at all times, at least one of you is to be with Miss Granger. More often Zambini. Weasley, I'd like you to talk to some of the other gryffindors. Tell them what happened and have them also keep an eye out. I will speak to the other professors and organize something more comfortable for you Miss Granger. Is that clear?" They all nodded and watched as their potions master swept out of the hospital, robes 'swishing' out behind him. Hermione looked over at Blaise. She had never really given him a good look. He wasn't very bad looking. He had long dark hair that fell into his eyes. Occasionally he would jerk his head to the side causing his hair to move from his face, revealing piercing green eyes. His eyes were similar to Harry's but had a much softer look to them. He smiled at Hermione, "Well, I'm supposed to escort you places so, will you be heading back to the common room?" Hermione smiled at his kindness and replied, "I'm not sure...hang on." She stood up and ran to Madame Pomfrey's office, Snape's cloak wrapped tightly around her. After a few minutes, she came back. "No, Blaise, I'll be staying here for the night, but thank you." She walked up to Blaise, gave him a hug, and then did the same for Ron. They both got the idea, smiled knowingly and left.

Hermione turned to Draco and smiled. "Any room for me in there?" He smirked mischievously and moved over, patting the spot on the bed next to him. She crawled in next to him and curled up against him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. He kissed her lightly on the back of the head and closed his eyes, falling almost instantly asleep, happier than he had been in a long time, with the only girl he'd ever want in bed with him lying comfortably next to him. He awoke sometime in the night when he felt Hermione shiver against him. Snape's cloak had fallen off her shoulders, revealing her in her bra. Although he did enjoy the view, he was a nice guy so he moved the cloak back onto her shoulder and pulled her closer.

The next morning he woke up and found Hermione sitting on the edge of the bed. She kept growling to herself and stomping her feet, muttering under her breath. "Something wrong?" She turned around and her angry look immediately faded. She huffed in frustration. "YES! Frickin Harry ripped my robes and now I have no clothes!" He smiled at her and replied, "You can wear mine, but they're slytherin." She glanced over at his clothes, neatly folded on his bedside table. "Better than this!" She said, gesturing down to her lovely ensemble of a large black cloak, bra, and shorts. He laughed lightly at her and watched as she picked up his clothes and headed to the bathroom. Not a minute later, she came out of the bathroom looking foolish as ever. But Draco couldn't help but think that even in his robes, she was beautiful. She was standing in his long black robes, slytherin crest over her heart. Her sleeves were well past the tips of her fingers and she had a lovely train trailing after her when she walked. She actually had to hold up the robes so she didn't trip and fall on her face when she moved. She looked down at herself and frowned. "I look like I'm wearing Hagrid's clothes!" She shouted in frustration. Draco smirked at her, "Hey, I think you look hott," Hermione scoffed, "but that's just me," he finished. He sat up on the bed and crossed his arms. Hermione looked at him for a minute and then got frustrated and just asked, "What are you waiting for?" This must have been what he had been looking for because smiled, held open his arms and said as if it was the most obvious thing, "You of course!" Hermione laughed and walked up to him, she bent down to hug him and before she could pull away she was pulled down onto his lap. He kissed her firmly on the lips and then whispered goodbye. She kissed back, said goodbye, and headed to transfiguration.

When she got into transfiguration, she noticed many eyes on her. She was wondering why people felt the need to stare but then she remembered her lovely ensemble of slytherin robes and slytherin tie. The fact that the robes were fit for Draco's 6 1 height when she was only about 5 4 also probably had something to do with it. She decided that since she was in slytherin clothing she might as well act like one, so she gave everyone who was staring a glare and headed to the nearest empty seat. Her seat was right by Harry. '_Dammit_!' She thought, '_why me?!_' She put her face in her hands and took deep breaths, calming herself, so she didn't do what she wanted because she figured if she beat the living crap out of Harry, she just might get into trouble. She was trying to think happy thoughts when she heard her name. She looked over to the slytherin side of the room and saw Blaise. He had a kind smile on his face and was waving her over. Hermione felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off her chest; she stood up and headed to the seat next to Blaise. "Thank you SO much!" She said as soon as she sat. Blaise chuckled, "Not a problem, that's what I'm here for."

Later on, Hermione was in charms with the slytherins and Flitwick announced that they would be switching seats. Once again, like in all other classes, she was conveniently placed in between Ron and Blaise. This had happened in all of her classes. In all her classes with the slytherins, she was between Blaise and a wall, same with the gryffindors, only with Ron rather than Blaise. Harry was also on the opposite end of the room. She was more than grateful for this but couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Flitwick had just explained to them how to do a concealing charm. Parvati and Lavender were having a ball with this, squealing to each other about how they'd never have to worry about pimples again. Obviously Hermione already knew how to do this charm very well, heck, she was so good she could conceal herself completely if the occasion called for it. But being that she didn't need practice, she decided to take advantage of the work time given to them and talk to her adorable charms professor. (AN sorry had to add adorable... GOTTA LOVE FLITWICK... **ahem** anyways...)

He was sitting on his stack of books observing his students attempt to conceal certain things with a cry of, '_Concealmenteno_!' Mostly to no avail. Hermione hesitantly walked up to him not knowing what exactly she was going to ask. "Erm, Professor?" He shifted his position on his stack of novels and turned towards her. "Hello Miss Granger! How can I help you?" He squeaked. She glanced momentarily over at Neville, who had just managed to turn his shoe laces into worms, while fiddling with her robes. She looked down at herself. Wait, they weren't her robes. They were Draco's. She inhaled her breath deeply, welcoming the scent that came from the robes. "Um, Professor, I'm assuming you are aware of the situation with Harry..." His usual bubbly cheerful expression went grim. "Yes, Miss Granger, I'm aware of Mr. Potter's actions." He said in a sad voice. Hermione felt her heart break seeing her favorite professor like this. He was usually bouncy and squeaky, but now, he was still and quiet. She felt bad because, in a way, she was responsible, she shouldn't have brought this up. But she had to know, so she continued...

"Well, in all my classes, I've noticed that I'm never near Harry. There are always people between us, either Ron, Blaise or both. In potions, I've got a wall on my left, Ron in front, Blaise next to me, and Dean, Neville, and Seamus at the table behind me, then there's Harry all the way on the opposite side of the room. I'm nowhere near him in any classes. Not that I mind, but, do you know what's going on?" She asked him quietly. Hermione could see Flitwick's lips twitching in the beginnings of a smile. After a second of him obviously trying not to smile, he clearly gave up because suddenly he had this huge goofy grin on his face. He leaned towards her, "You'll never believe this Miss Granger, none of us professors did, but Professor Snape personally requested that you be as far from Potter as possible, with at least Mr. Weasley and/or Mr. Zambini in between you. He said that he didn't want Mr. Potter anywhere near you and that it'd make him and obviously you feel better to have him as far as possible." By the time had finished talking he was back to his bouncy old self and was beaming. Hermione's jaw was dropped, her eyes wide, "Pro-Professor Snape requested all this?!" Flitwick nodded excitedly. Hermione shook her head and walked away, trying to grasp that Professor Severus Snape, former Death eater, and the professor who always seemed to be out to get her, now seemed to be trying to protect her.

Hermione slowly dragged herself back to her seat, flicking her wand inconspicuously in Neville's direction, fixing his shoe laces. She plopped onto her seat with a huff, Blaise having successfully concealed a beauty mark on his chin, looked over to her, "What's up?" She explained to him what Flitwick had told her and by the end of her story, Blaise, like Professor Flitwick, was beaming. "See, he's not _that_ bad. I will admit, he is a _bit_ unfair to the gryffindors but he's a good man." Hermione, to the surprise of her and all the gryffindors who had heard Blaise's comment, agreed. She sat for a minute thinking, then spoke, "Yeah, he used to be my least favorite teacher, always picking on us poor gryffindors, and now here he is doing practically everything possible to protect me. I'm telling you, I never would have expected this. But what surprises me the most is that I'm really starting to like him." Seamus, who was sitting nearby, was giving Hermione an incredulous look, jaw dropped, eyes wide. "You-you...Hermione...You like snape?! Like ...you ... bloody hell..." He trailed off and put his head in his hands. "This world is mad I tell you! First Potter, then THIS!?" Since the mishap in the dungeons, everyone, including Hermione, Ron, and all the gryffindors, had to taken to calling Harry Potter. One, because they didn't have any respect whatsoever for him, and two, it annoyed the hell out of him.

After Charms, Blaise, Ron, and Hermione went to the hospital wing to visit Draco. They all stopped in the doorway and watched in amusement as Draco begged to get out of the hospital wing. He was standing next to his bed, facing Madam Pomfrey, who was standing with her arms crossed over her chest shaking her head. "But Madam Pomfrey! I'm FINE! LOOK! I can jump!" Then he started to jump up and down, waving his hands in the air, "See? Nothing happened, no death here? I'm breathing juuuuust fiiiine." Madame Pomfrey still shook her head, "No, Mr. Malfoy, you were seriously injured and I don't want you to leave until I think you're _ready_." She then shoved him down back onto the bed. Draco glared at her, and then sprung back to his feet, growling in aggravation, "WATCH! I can even run!" Then he proceeded to run in circles around the hospital wing, with Madam Pomfrey watching him in amusement. He stopped in front of her, panting. "See?...I'm... just...fine." He managed in between breaths. He was standing in front of her, with his hands on his knees, looking up at his stubborn nurse. She finally sighed, her hands dropping to her sides. "Welllllll, I suppose if you're so sure you're ok, then you can leave." Draco's face brightened and huge grin spread across his face. He started to jump around shouting, "WOOHOOOOO!"

"I don't know Madame Pomfrey; clearly he's still got a lot of your drugs in his system." Draco turned to the door of the hospital wing and his jaw dropped when he saw Hermione leaning against the door frame shaking with her suppressed giggles with Ron and Blaise behind her, doubled over in hysterical laughter. Draco glared at them, "Oh, ha ha ha." He said haughtily. Hermione then broke into hysterical laughter. She fell to the ground, clutching her stomach, her eyes watering. Draco crossed his arms and stood for a few minutes, waiting for them to calm down. Ron and Blaise stopped soon, but Hermione just kept going for quite a while. Finally, she calmed down, she stood up, took a deep breath, staying completely calm save for her random giggle spurts. "I'm sorry," she said, "really I am." She gave Draco a confused look when he just smirked at her. "What?" She asked him suspiciously. "Sorry?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry!"

"You're gonna be!" He then sprinted towards her and when he reached her, he started tickling her. He knew from experience that she was ticklish so he decided to take advantage of it. She immediately fell to the floor, probably in an attempt to escape him. All it did was trap her even more. He kneeled down next to her holding her down tickling her mercilessly. "Draco...Pleaseeee...stopppppp!" She whined in between fits of laughter. He finally stopped tickling her and she just stayed lying on the ground. She looked up to him, her face flushed from laughter. He looked down at her and smiled, "You're very beautiful, do you know that?" She blushed further, only making her more beautiful. "Yeah, I know," she said with a smirk. He stood up and offered her his hand, "Want to go on a little walk?" He asked. She took his hand and nodded, smiling. She stood up and smoothed her robes and hair, and they left, hand in hand. Ron and Blaise watched them go shaking their heads, "Kids these days!" Said Ron, throwing his hands in the air. "Tell me about it," replied Blaise, "Wizard chess?" Ron looked over at him, "You play?" Blaise smirked, "For as long as I can remember." Ron smiled, "Good! Maybe I'll finally get a little competition!" Then they walked off to engage in a game of wizard chess, soon to find out that they had each met their match.

Draco and Hermione were walking through the entrance hall towards the doors. Hermione glanced over at the stairs leading down to the dungeons and stopped. Draco got a few steps ahead and turned back to her. "What's wrong?" Hermione shook her head, "Nothing, but, um, can we make a little stop first?" Draco followed her gaze towards the dungeons and looked at her in confusion. "Uh, surrrre, no problem..." Hermione then locked her fingers with him and headed down the very steps that days before she had been being carried up. She smiled at the memory, so unexpected. They walked for a few minutes and finally Draco broke the silence, "So, where are we going anyways?" Hermione looked up at him, "I just want to pay Snape a little visit..."


	6. Those who really deserve it

This chapter is dedicated to my best friend Becca (Gonnabefamous...Read her story...it's called "Losing Time" . it's amazing) She is a humongo snape fan and I made him nice all for her... and because she is "doomed to shortness" so I stole that tidbit from her. Seriously, she's itty bitty... she walks around at a tiny height of 5'1....gotta love her... anyways... keep reviewing... I love you all...

Dracoandhermioneforever88 thank you so much!! I'm glad you like it... I'll update as soon as possible but I have bball and homework so it might take a bit... my goal is to update every weekend... but idk for sure... So keep reading!

Karana Belle thanks... I'm glad you like snape. I love that guy and I'm trying to win him some sympathy here... thanks for reviewing...keep reading......oh yea and I thought it was SO cute how it said "resident at st. mungo's" lol

Lelimo I have NO idea what gd means... so review again and let me know lol... but I'll be updating as much as possible so don't worry.

Abbi I'm glad you like it...I'll update as soon as possible

asiangrl91caren Hashleyneo31gonnabefamousthanks for your review...keep reviewing

Fallen-Angels-Whisper I'm glad I had that affect on you...it's good to know because that's what I was going for. Oh, and as for Draco beating up Harry, well he got beat up somewhat...but...trust me, he's got a lot more coming to him...keep reviewing!

Sundaym0rningomg thanks for reviewing so much! I'm REALLY glad you like my story as much as you do and I plan to update as much as I can so just keep reading and reviewing!

I LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLL!!!!!! 3333

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Draco and Hermione were walking through the dungeons hand in hand. Draco was terribly curious as to why they were 'paying a snape a visit.' Hermione, along with the rest of the gryffindors, had always hated snape with a burning passion, and now Hermione was going out of her way to see him. "Um, Hermione?" She looked up to him, an eyebrow raised in question, "Yes?" Draco stopped walking and turned to her. "Why are we visiting snape? What happened to the big bad potions master? I never thought you'd ever want to see him." Hermione laughed at him, "Oh right, you missed all of that didn't you?" He looked at her in confusion. Hermione shook her head at him and began telling him the whole story. She watched in amusement as he gaped at her after she told him about the effort he had made for her. "Snape did all that...for a Gryffindor?! I couldn't even see him doing that for a slytherin, let alone a Gryffindor! I don't believe it..." He shook his head and started walking again. Hermione laughed at him and ran a few steps to catch up to him. He was walking very fast and she practically had to sprint to keep up with him. She didn't think that he realized that his strides surpassed hers by about 4 feet.

"Draco!! Slow down will ya?!" He looked down at her small figuring running to keep up. He laughed and slowed down for her. "Sorry about that, forgot how small you were." Hermione laughed and slapped him playfully on the arm. "Come on now Draco. I can help it if I'm doomed to shortness." He laughed at her, put his arm around her shoulders, and continued moving, making sure to move at a speed possible for his little girlfriend. Finally they turned the corner and Snape's office came into view. She sped up in anticipation. She couldn't wait to thank him for everything, he had helped her so much in the past few days, and she didn't know if she could thank him enough.

She walked up to the door and stopped in front of it. She lifted her fist and let it hover a few inches from the solid wood surface before knocking on it politely. She heard a cold voice from the inside, "Enter." She took a deep breath and pushed opened the door. She took a few steps inside and immediately felt the temperature drop. _'What is with this man and his sub-zero temperatures?!' _She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. She walked towards his desk and found it empty. _'What the heck! He was just in here! He called me in!' _She stopped walking and glanced around the room, searching for her professor. "Over here Miss Granger." She followed the sound of the voice to the far end of the classroom. There he was. Her vindictive potions master was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with an expectant look on his face. "How may I help you?"

She couldn't believe she was about to do this. She walked up to him and didn't stop walking until there was only about a foot in between them. "Professor Snape, sir, I came here to thank you. For everything. You made such an effort to make me comfortable and you were very successful. Not having to see Harry or even hear him for that matter made everything much more comfortable for me and if it hadn't been for you I wouldn't have had that. But the main reason I'm here is to thank you for what you did the night when Harry...when he tried to...well..." She slapped herself mentally for the tears she felt forming in her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued, "thank you for saving me professor. If it hadn't been for you...well...I don't even want to think about what may have happened to me. For all we know, you just may have saved my life. You rescued me, gave me your cloak to keep me warm, and then you made the unnecessary, but appreciated, effort to work out seating arrangements. So...thank you very much Professor Snape. You have no idea how much I appreciate your kind actions." She had been looking at her feet while she was speaking, afraid to see his reaction. But now, she reluctantly moved her eyes from her hands to his face and was surprised to see him with a subtle, but noticeable smile on his face.

"It was my pleasure Miss Granger. I know I haven't always been so nice to you and your friends, but no one deserves that kind of treatment, not even gryffindors." Hermione smiled at him, and then turned to leave. She stopped at the door and spun towards him. She found herself in a very good mood after this so decided to show it.

"See you tomorrow Professor Snape!" She said this in a voice so cheerful that it made him cringe. But seeing that the young girl that had fallen victim to attempted rape in such good spirits made the nausea disappear and once again Snape found himself smiling. Not by choice obviously.

Hermione and Draco left the dungeons and headed out towards the grounds. Hermione loved going outside at night, the location of the school, though unknown to anyone other than the founders, was in a place where the sky was clear and the stars visible. Making it a very nice place for a romantic getaway. "Hermione?" Hermione turned towards Draco when he called her. He reached inside his robes and before she could see what he pulled out, his hands shot behind his back.

"Whatcha got?!" Hermione loved surprises. She ran up to him and tried desperately to reach around him, but every time she got close, he'd just switch hands, or lift it about his head, where they both knew she'd _never_ reach it. After a few minutes of Hermione's fruitless attempts to reach whatever her dear slytherin was hiding she gave up. She huffed, crossed her arms over her chest, and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout that Draco found _terribly_ adorable. Draco took advantage of her position and darted behind her and wrapped the blindfold he had had in his hands around her eyes. She screamed and started to feel around for him. Draco laughed at her. She looked so foolish reaching around for him when he was at least 3 feet in the opposite direction. Hermione lifted her hands to the blindfold and started to remove it.

"Ohhh no you don't!" Draco ran up to her and poked her in her side, causing her arms to fly to her side to protect herself. Draco took this opportunity to flick his wand at the blindfold, making it impossible to remove by anyone but himself. "You might at well give up, that blindfolds not going anywhere," he told her arrogantly, proud that he had thought to charm it that way. Hermione growled in the direction she thought he was; which just happened to be the right way, and crossed her arms again. "Is there a reason behind this or do you take pride in torturing me?" He laughed, "A little bit of both." Hermione then made a noise somewhere along the lines of "PSH!" then said, "Well, are we actually going to go somewhere?" Draco smirked, he loved how impatient she was, and it was practically the only side of her that remotely resembled a slytherin. He walked to her and grabbed her hand. He started to walk towards his surprise. While he had been in the hospital wing, he had spent a lot of his time staring out the window. He had spotted a small secluded area of the garden that he had never noticed before. He memorized the path to it and made a mental note to take Hermione there as soon as he got out of the hospital. Now he would finally be able to take her. He began to walk the path he knew all too well, with Hermione slightly behind him, her free hand feeling around so she didn't walk right into something. He smiled at her and slowed down a bit. He let go of her hand and moved behind her. He had finally reached his destination and couldn't wait to see her reaction. He untied the blindfold but still held it around her eyes. He went around her and removed the blindfold. Hermione's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh Draco, this is amazing!"

Draco had led her to a large area of the garden. It was completely covered with soft, thick grass save for the wild flowers that sprouted up in random places and the pond in the middle. The pond was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. The water was covered with lilies and was shimmering in the moonlight. There were small fairies hovering over the lake, so small that all you could see were the sparkling trails they left behind as they flew gracefully over the surface. Draco watched as she moved slowly forward, observing the beauty surrounding her. She walked to the edge of the lake and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. The light of the moon was surrounding her, making her glow. Fairies had come to investigate her and were flying in circles around her, only making her look more angelic. Draco couldn't stop himself. He walked towards her, the fairies scattering as he approached and taking their places on the lake. When he reached her, he took her hand gently and when she turned to him, he leaned down and kissed her. She was surprised at first but quickly recovered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt as his found their way around her waist. They kissed each other hungrily, having not been able to do so for several days. Hermione moaned in pleasure and moved closer. Eventually, they both pulled back, reluctantly of course, but oxygen was necessary so they really had no choice in the matter. She smiled at him and followed when he started to lead her to a small blanket in the middle of a patch of flowers. She sat down next to him on the blanket and just looked at him. He looked at her and their eyes locked. She always seemed to get lost in his eyes. They were usually cold and emotionless but now they were swirling with a mix of feeling. He gazed into her dark brown eyes; they were always so soft and kind. Even when they were enemies and she was glaring, he could always see the kindness hiding behind the hate. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the nose before falling back onto the blanket with a sigh. She watched him fall backwards, and followed suit, laying her head on his chest.

Draco and Hermione laid there for about an hour and a half but it was not nearly long enough. Hermione had her head on his shoulder and he was carelessly stroking her hair. She was so comfortable, she could stay there forever. Draco remembered at the beginning of the year when he was wondering to himself if her hair was as soft as it looked. And now he was playing with it, and it wasn't as soft as he thought. It was much much softer. He smiled to himself at the memory. He had thought the bet would be very difficult. Hermione had never talked to him other than to fight with him, and he had gotten beaten up by her on numerous occasions. He never thought it'd actually work. Well, he figured it'd work in time, but he never thought he'd be so happy with it. He thought it would be a living hell for him to be with her...but now, it was a living hell for him to be away from her. He thought about the bet...if it hadn't been for Hermione, he'd probably had given in to pansy somewhere along the line and would be with her now. He shuddered inwardly at the thought of kissing that pug-faced whore rather than Hermione. He then realized just how happy he was with her...you couldn't pay him to go back to the ways things used to be. He couldn't imagine having her glare like that again. He couldn't imagine seeing the hate burning in her eyes and having it directed at him. He couldn't imagine having her call him Malfoy either. You only call people by their last name when you really hate them, it's like they're not worth you calling them their first name. It would break his heart to go back to that. If she found out about the bet, she'd probably never talk to him again.

The thought made him unconsciously hold her tighter. He promised himself he'd never let her go. She was worth way too much to him and to have her slip away like that would kill him. Draco figured if he told her straight out that it was a bet, but that he had fallen for her she would understand. But she'd still probably be mad. But even more so if she found out from someone else, in a worse way. No, he wouldn't let that happen. He was going to tell her.

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Draco?"

"Look, there's something I really need to tell you..." He trailed off, seriously considering letting it be.

"Of course, anything." She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him, waiting for him to talk.

"Well...ok...well ya see..." He trailed off again, shaking his head at himself for being so nervous. She would understand.

"Oh Draco, relax, you know you can tell me anything." She said, smiling kindly.

"Yeah I know...ok," '_Here goes nothing..._' "Ok, at the beginning at the year..." _'No, I'm not ruining the moment, I'll tell her...later...yeah...later'_, he shook his head slightly, "Never mind, it's not important." Hermione shrugged.

"Whatever you say, Draco." Draco felt somewhat troubled that he hadn't just gotten it over with, but it was a slight relief to not have to tell her.

After sitting together, happy just to be in contact with one another, Hermione abruptly sat up, seemingly deep in thought. Draco looked at her in confusion, "What's up?" Hermione looked down at him, brow furrowed, "I'm hungry." Draco laughed with her then stood up, helping her up as he went. He flicked his wand at the blanket, causing it to disappear. He held out his hand, which she immediately took, intertwining her fingers with his own. He looked down at her, "I guess we should fix that then." He then leaned down and they shared one last passionate kiss before ending their romantic night and leading her back to the castle.

Hermione and Draco sat together on the couch. They both were facing the center and their legs were tangled together. They were both lost in books when a loud pounding caused them both to jump. They looked at each other in confusion, wondering where the obnoxious noise had come from. They listened, waiting for it to come again...silence. They both shrugged and went back to their book. A few minutes later, the loud pounding sounded again. Hermione was still confused, "What the bloody hell is that noise?!" Draco smirked at her, untangled himself from her and walked to the portrait. He opened it and smiled when he saw a furious red head and a triumphant looking black haired boy. Hermione stood up when she saw how angry Ron was. She ran up the door, stopping next to Draco. "Ron! What's wrong?" She looked at him, concern very visible in her eyes. Ron just crossed his arms and turned away. She looked at Blaise, "What's going on?" Blaise was grinning goofily and held out his fist. Hermione looked at it in confusion and her jaw dropped when he opened in it. There, in the middle of Blaise's palm were the left over pieces of Ron's shattered king.

Hermione started laughing and Ron spun around and glared at her. "It's most definitely _not _funny! I have never _ever_ lost Mione! EVER!!!" He threw his hands in the air and sighed in exasperation when Hermione continued to laugh. "The...first time...you ever lost...a game of wizard chess...was to a... SLYTHERIN!!" She managed to get out in between laughs. Ron just gave her a snooty look and pushed past her into the common room. Blaise followed close behind him, rattling the pieces in his hand.

"Your _poor poor _king. Just didn't see my knight coming!" He jumped back laughing when Ron spun around and swung his fist at him. Ron plopped on the couch after missing yet again and crossed his arms. Blaise sat next to him and continued rattling the pieces right next to Ron's ears. Hermione saw a smile tugging at the corners of Ron's lips and after a few seconds, he finally smiled. He turned to Blaise, "Yeah, Yeah, rub it in." Blaise smirked at him, "Silly Gryffindor, what on earth do you I've been doing since your darling king met his untimely demise?" The four of them laughed and then just sat the rest of the night talking about random things and laughing about things that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. It was a great night...

They had many more nights than this and soon enough, these four were very close. Every class Slytherin and Gryffindor were together, the four of them sat together. Draco was no longer hesitant to be close with Hermione in public. Rather than sending her subtle winks or smiles, he's sit next to her and drape his arm across her shoulders, with not a care in the world. Sometimes he'd even sneak a kiss when the teacher was turned around. At first slytherins and gryffindors alike were very skeptical. Some even mean about it. Most of the girls were jealous beyond all reason. Hermione Granger, formerly known as the unpopular bookworm, was now dating Draco Malfoy, star quidditch player and hottest, most popular guy in all of Hogwarts. But Lavender, Lavender wasn't jealous for a second. She had always been so nice to Hermione and now she was so happy for her. When she first heard that they were going public, her exact response was high pitched squealing, and her jumping up and down clapping. Then, she told them both how happy she was for them, gave them both, yes even Draco, huge hugs and skipped away. Draco at first was very annoyed with Lavender. He found her never-ending happiness to be very irritating. But Hermione was very close with her, so he accepted that he had to get used to her and before he knew it, she was also in their group. She was usually the comic relief in serious moments. Harry had been suspended for two weeks for his attack and had to spend those weeks with the whole of the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione couldn't imagine having to go to the OotP Headquarters for a few weeks randomly in the middle of the year and when asked the reason having to tell them that he had attempted to rape his best friend. But whenever Harry was seen, heard, mentioned, or anything of the sort, an uncomfortable silence would often envelop them. However, Lavender wouldn't have it. She had a habit of randomly breaking out in song when she was uncomfortable. Usually people were annoyed by this, but Draco, Hermione, Blaise, and Ron found it very entertaining and would applaud when she was done with her songs. Her songs always made them laugh, especially considering she sang very off key, making up words as she went.

One night, the five of them were hanging out in the head common room and there was a knock on the portrait. Draco opened the door and was surprised when a small girl, about 5 feet, with blonde hair and striking blue eyes collapsed into his arms, crying. He had never had anything going on with this girl. He had grown up with her and they had both been appointed future death eaters before they had the mind to make the decision for themselves. A few years back, they had both decided that they didn't want to waste their lives cowering to the lowly form of one scared to face a 16 year old boy. She was his best friend other than Blaise and seeing her like this tore him apart. He put his arm around her waist and led her to the couch. Hermione had immense trust in Draco so seeing him like this didn't bother her. She'd actually heard plenty of stories about this girl and recognized her immediately. She had tears streaming down her face and was trembling. She wasn't making crying noises of any sort but there were tears running freely down her face, her eyes were wide open and staring straight ahead, as if she was staring at the thing she feared most. Her bright blue eyes were glazed over and she was shaking. Draco was kneeling in front of her, shaking her by the shoulders.

"ELLA! Ella!!!" She still was dazed, just staring. Draco stood up and took a few steps back. "Oh God Ella, what happened to you?" Lavender, being completely clueless as to what was going on ran over and sat next to Hermione. She leaned in close, "'Mione, who is that?" Hermione answered her in a whisper, her eyes never leaving the terrified slytherin. "That's Ella Rickman, she grew up with Draco. They're really close." Hermione looked over at Ron and Blaise. Ron was staring at Ella, concern and awe visible in his eyes. Hermione thought she was a very beautiful girl. She was five feet tall and had a figure curvy as a mother. Ron must have agreed. Then she had straight blonde hair, down to her waist and bright blue eyes.

Her eyes than traveled over to Blaise who had the same look in his eyes only he was looking at...Lavender? Hermione nudged lavender and nodded in Blaise's direction. Lavender had been telling Hermione a lot lately how cute she thought Blaise was, and now here he was, staring at her. Lavender looked at him and blushed. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Hermione elbowed Lavender and Lavender shouted in pain and sprung to her feet, holding her arm. Hermione put her feet on Lavender's spot as soon as she stood up.

Lavender looked down, "Hey now, that's my seat!" Hermione smirked, "Sorry Lav, no room. Let's see...where can you sit? Oh look at thattttt, there's an empty seat over there... right next to Blaise...see it?" Lavender turned around and Hermione took advantage of it and pushed her towards him with her foot. Lavender laughed and sat next to Blaise. When they were soon deep in conversation, Hermione turned her attention back to Draco and Ella.

Ella had snapped back to reality somewhere in the lavender and Blaise thing. She and Draco were talking in hushed tones and Draco looked positively worried. He turned towards Hermione and frowned. He then tried to cover up his worry, to no avail. "Um, Hermione, this is Ella...Ella, Hermione." Hermione stood up, walked over to them, and extended her hand. Ella smiled kindly and shook it. "Hello Hermione, I've heard a _lot_ about you." She then laughed and looked to Draco. Hermione smiled at her and turned to Draco who tried to look innocent. "What, you don't expect me to keep quiet about you do you?" Hermione shook her head and him and turned back to Ella. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" Ella explained that the slytherins were just being really rude to her and had upset her immensely. Hermione didn't quite understand how she could be upset so easily about some teasing, but comforted her nonetheless. She was rubbing her back and going on about how slytherins are no good, double timing... that's as far as she got as soon as she realized she was rather outnumbered. She laughed nervously and said, "Oh just kidding. Gotta love those slytherins. They're so kind and would never dream of turning their backs on their friends...ever...never ever!" She smiled awkwardly and they all laughed at her. "What!? It's true! Ok, not so much, but still, it was a good save you have to admit." They all shook their heads and answered sarcastically, "Surrrre it was, you sure had us fooled." Then they all started laughing and talking again. They all welcomed Ella into their group and were very comfortable together. She and Ron were shamelessly flirting, along with Blaise and Lavender. Heck, by the end of the night, Blaise had asked out Lavender and they were all over each other. Hermione and Draco watched in amusement as Blaise sat with his arm around Lavender and they kissed. They snogged like no one was watching when really there were four people there watching, waiting for them to take their tongues out of each other's mouths long enough to could have an actual conversation. Ella coughed loudly and they both jumped and pulled away, awkwardly looking in the other direction. Draco smirked, "Thank you! I don't know how much longer I could take of watching you two swapping spit."

Potions the following day

During potions they had continued their work on the Polyjuice potion. Draco and Hermione had finished long ago, being that they were top students and Hermione had brewed some successfully her as a second year. Snape gave them permission to silently talk during class after he successfully tested their potion. Hermione gave him a kind smile when he said this, which he subtly returned. Draco smirked at them and shook his head. "Hey, do you think Ron and Ella would make a good couple?" Hermione asked Draco one day during potions.

"Yeah, actually I do. Though I hate to admit it." When he said this Hermione got very excited and clapped her hands quietly.

"Oh oh oh! Let's get them together!!" Draco laughed at how easily excited she was and replied.

"Yeah, ok...but I swear if he does anything to her, I'm gonna kill him. Ella's like my baby sister. I've known her for as long as I can remember and she knows me better than anyone. Same goes for her. She reads me better than anyone. I don't know how she does it. She's the only who can actually, I've always tried to hide it but she always sees past it. It's bloody annoying really." Hermione laughed at him.

"What's so funny, Hermione?" Draco put his hands on his hips and looked at her expectantly. Hermione waved her hand at him, "It's nothing really, nothing at all." Their conversation ended when they heard snape yelling on the other side of the other room.

"Really Mr. Potter, you pour the beetle eyes in, stir clockwise two and half times, then count to four and go on to the next ingredients. Even Longbottom got past that step perfectly. If you can't do something that he did flawlessly, then you are even thicker than I ever imagined possible." He then sneered at Potter and walked over to Seamus and his partner who had just raised their hands, claiming to be finished. After clarifying that they were finished he did something that nearly made all the gryffindors fall off their chairs. He inspected the potion then said, "Well done Mr. Finnigan. I'm glad that _some _people can manage such a simple potion." He sent a glare in Harry's direction and then continued to the next group. After potions, Harry was walking with Seamus and Dean, much to their dismay, and complaining. "Bloody hell, I always knew snape was mean but he seems to be so much worse lately." Seamus and Dean feigned innocence. Dean spoke first, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm actually growing rather fond of the ol' man." Seamus nodded, "Yeah, I agree. He used to be really mean and unfair to _all _of the gryffindors. But now, he's only mean to those who _really_ deserve it." Then they walked away, leaving a furious Harry to walk alone.


	7. I can handle that

Several days after Ella became part of the gang, Hermione and Ron went off to the library leaving Draco and Ella alone in the common room and Blaise and Lavender off doing God knows what. In the common room, Draco was sitting calmly on the couch watching as Ella paced back and forth. After she darted back and forth over the gold and silver plush carpet for a good five minutes, randomly stopping to tug on her hair and growl, Draco lost his patience. He stood up and walked up to her. He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "What is going on with you?!" She looked at him for a minute before her bottom lip started to tremble and her eyes started to fill with tears. "Draco…I lied you to you all before…" She trailed off and looked down at her hands. Draco's arms fell to his sides. He looked at her, a mix of anger and hurt in his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you know when I came to you crying the other day? And I told you it was because I was being teased?"

Draco narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Yesss…"

"Well, I only said that because I knew you'd believe me. You know how sensitive I am and I knew you'd buy it."

"Oh geez…what really happened el?"

"Draco you know how much I love you right? You're my dearest friend and it kills me to see you upset. Well…it's Pansy…"

"What about her?"

"She really doesn't like that you are so happy with Hermione. She was really looking forward to you two breaking up and you coming back to her. Now you guys are so happy and we all know it's going to be a long time. But…Oh Draco…" She let out a quiet sob. Draco put his arm around her, "What is it?" She took a deep breath and spoke.

"…she's going to tell Hermione."

……………………………………………….

Hermione and Ron had been in the library studying for their potions' exam for quite some time when a loud sound echoed through the library. Hermione burst into laughter and had to cough to cover it up. She looked up at Ron who was blushing a color similar to his hair. He was throwing her a glare, but his bright blue eyes were dancing with laughter. Hermione smiled at him, "Hungry are we Ronald?" He gave her a look, "Nooooo, my stomach just does that when it's bored," he replied sarcastically. Hermione laughed at him and stopped when she looked at her watch. "Wow, we've nearly missed all of dinner, no wonder your stomach's throwing such a fit. Come on or there'll be no more food." With a wave of their wands, their stuff was packed neatly in their bags. They picked up them up and rushed out of the library, being sure to stop when they passes Madam Pince's desk, only to start running full speed again once they were sure they were out of site.

Hermione and Ron burst through the doors to the Great hall, laughing hysterically. On their way, they had nearly had run directly into Filch and had to literally leap into an empty classroom to avoid him. They had tumbled through the door, landing in a tangle of legs and arms with papers flying everywhere from the bags that had flown with them. They had lain there laughing for quite a few minutes before they finally stopped enough to where they were again capable of movement. They stumbled into the great hall but stopped abruptly when they saw Goyle clumsily dumping something into Harry's drink while Harry was distracted with some random Hufflepuff. Goyle waddled away and Harry turned back to the table. He grabbed his goblet and brought it to his lips. "Harry NO!"

Hermione ran towards him and ripped the goblet from his fingers clutching it to her chest. Harry glared at her, "What the hell Granger! Give me my drink!" Hermione had a determined look on her face.

"No way Harry." Harry just gave her a look, "And why not? Look, I know you hate me… but really, taking my drink?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Oh yes Harry, I've been plotting against you and now my evil plan is unfolding. First, I steal your drink." Harry actually smiled, and then he put his hand over his heart and put a look of mock pain on his face.

"NO! Not my drink! ANYthing but my drink!" Hermione laughed at him. She then remembered why she came over in the first place.

"Look, Harry, when I came in, I saw Goyle pouring something in your drink. A potion... or something…" Harry gave her a disbelieving look. "I only had my back turned for like 2 minutes! I would have noticed."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Harry, you and I both know that 2 minutes is more than enough time to spike a drink."

Harry raised his eyebrow at her, "Right, because you're 'spiked' so many drinks." Hermione smirked, "Maybe. Anyways, just let me get this one tested, we both know that as soon as I get relatively far away, a new goblet will come. One not so contaminated." Harry growled under his breath.

"It's _not_ contaminated!" Hermione huffed.

"YES it is! We saw him doing it! Isn't that right Ron?" She looked over at Ron whose head was turned the towards slytherin table, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Ron!"

His head snapped back to the situation and looked at them in confusion, "Wait...whaa?" Hermione glared, "Didn't we see Goyle messing with Harry's drink."

Ron looked at her, "Yes, why?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because Mr. Potter here refuses to believe it."

Ron looked at Harry, "its true mate."

Harry sighed in exasperation and dropped his hand to his sides, "Fine fine, whatever you say bookworm." Hermione spun around to him and smiled…he had called her bookworm. He hadn't called her that since this summer. Not since before he had begun to change. She flashed him a smile and hurried up to the head table, being sure not to spill as she went. Hermione slid to a stop in front of her potions master.

"Hello Professor!" She said in an out of breath voice. Snape looked up from his food and gave her a small smile, "Good evening Miss Granger."

Hermione smiled and launched into the story about the potion in the goblet. By the end of the story Snape had taken the goblet and was stirring it with his finger. He pulled his finger out and looked at it closely.

"I see…well, follow me Miss Granger. Weasley, go get potter and bring him down to my office." Ron nodded his head and headed back to the Gryffindor table. Hermione followed her professor towards the entrance of the Great Hall, excited to find out what had been going on, yet apprehending the results. At then end of the Gryffindor table, Snape stopped and spun towards it. He crossed his arms and looked expectantly at Ron, who at the moment had a firm hold on Harry's arm and was attempting to pull Harry out of his seat. Harry had his head propped up on his palm, his elbow on the table, and his fingers drumming the side of his jaw. His other arm was currently in Ron's possession. Ron Weasley had both hands wrapped around his wrist and was pulling away with all his might. Harry didn't budge, and was actually looking rather bored.

Snape walked up to Harry, "Come, Potter," he said, pointing to the floor in front of him. "I won't, and nothing you say will make me." Harry said smirking, folding his arms over his chest. "This could've been very easy for you, but you had to be difficult didn't you," he growled, and walked up to his head table. A few words were exchanged between himself and Dumbledore and after, Dumbledore, eyes twinkling, smiled and nodded. Harry watched this whole ordeal with his eyes narrowed in suspicion. '_What has Dumbledore given him permission to do?!....BLOODY HELL!'_ Harry's eyes widened when he saw Snape reach in his robes, pull out his wand, and point it right at him.

Harry started to stand up and run towards the door. Snape had plenty of reason to attack him, and he wasn't going to risk it. He was getting out of there. So he ran as fast as he could. Suddenly, he felt the floor leave the area below his feat. He didn't care, he'd still make it. He shut his eyes tight and ran with all his might. After running for a few seconds, and never making it to the door he opened his eyes. "AAHHH!" Harry was floating several feet above the ground. For the past few seconds, he had been running in mid air, never making any progress. The entire hall watched as Snape twirled his wand, causing Harry now to be hanging upside down. Snape smirked as he saw Harry's robe start to slip down. _'Now he knows how I felt.' _ He thought bitterly. Then Snape remembered the humiliation he felt, and all the taunting he had to endure, and quickly righted Harry. Hermione was laughing even though she felt bad, but she assumed no one noticed her quiet laughter, being that the entire hall was in an uproar.

Snape, however, calmly walked through the excited students, towards the trio, then past the trio. Hermione and Ron followed him, knowing he was going to his office. Once they were out the door, they looked back to see a furious Harry floating behind, still trying with all his might to run in the opposite direction.

Once they reached the dungeons, Hermione and Ron stood with a few feet between them. Snape adjusted his wand so that it was pointing directly in between then broke the charm. Harry floated down in between them and they both immediately seized his arms. Harry rolled his eyes, "Honestly, you think I'm going to run. There's two very qualified people here who could easily put me back under that spell and one, "he glanced at Snape, "who wouldn't hesitate to put a shrinking spell on me and step on me. Or, of course, he could do it the easy way and just grab a convenient jar and throw it at me. Of course, he's already used that option, now hasn't he?" Snape smirked reveling on the wonderful memory, then frowned when he remembered the reason for the jar throwing. He then remembered their reason for coming down here. He set the goblet on the table and turned around. He then continued to pull out a testing vial, dip it in the goblet, and pull out another cauldron. He poured another potion into the cauldron, and then poured the sample from the goblet into it. The cauldron sizzled and smoked, then turned an amazing pink color. Snape stared at the new substance before turning back to the Gryffindors. "Have a seat." With a flick of his wand, three green and silver plush chairs appeared below them, which they, reluctantly of course, sat in. Each giving Snape a glare for his choice of colors.

Snape then launched into an explanation that would explain everything that had occurred in the past few months. "Mr. Potter, your drinks have been spiked with anger potions. The potion causes any anger in the person to become unfathomable. Now, was there anything that happened that may have made you angry with Miss Granger?" Hermione looked at her hands while Harry replied, "Yeah, I told her I loved her, and she didn't feel the same way." Ron and Hermione expected him to be angry, but instead, he looked hurt. Snape nodded, "So Potter was angry with Miss Granger, and when he was given the potion the anger became much stronger than it originally was. You have to give the person the anger potion each night at a specific time. If one dose is not given, the person immediately returns to normal. You may have noticed that Potter was acting more normal at dinner once you took his glass. Now, there are two possibilities here. One, he could have no recollection at all of his rash actions, or two, he could have seen everything he was doing, but not been able to stop himself. Potter, one or two." Harry's eyes were glazed over and he was frowning. He looked at his hands when he replied with a "two" but Hermione still saw the tear slide down his cheek. So he had seen himself assaulting her, but he couldn't stop himself. Hermione slid her chair closer to his and hesitantly put her hand on his shoulder, "It's ok Harry, don't beat yourself up over this. It's not like you could've stopped yourself." Harry stood up quickly causing Hermione to quickly pull her hand back.

"DON'T TELL ME IT'S OK!!! Do you have any idea how it feels to have your heart shattered by your _best_ friend?! Then when you finally start to calm down, having to watch yourself beat her, then attempt to rape her?! You can't tell me it's ok! I had to watch! Watch, Hermione, as I slapped you, nearly punched you, attempted to crucio you, than try to rape you! My heart was already broken at that point, but seeing you like that, just crushed me even more. Oh God, Hermione I am SO sorry! I tried to stop myself! Really, I did, but it didn't do anything. I'm so sorry." Harry then collapsed to his knees and put his face in his hands. Hermione had tears streaming down her face and lightly fell to her knees beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and just held him. He was shaking lightly, but no tears were falling. Hermione pulled back and lifted his chin with her hands so that their eyes met. "Harry, I forgive you. You couldn't stop yourself and I won't just sit and watch you blame yourself for something you couldn't prevent." Harry nodded very slightly and stood back up. He held a hand out to Hermione, who took it and stood up. Ron was smiling and stood up too. He moved right in between them and wrapped his arms around both of them. Harry and Hermione both laughed and hugged him back. And Snape just stood and watched as the Golden trio shared a group hug. Then mentally kicked himself again for the smile he couldn't prevent from sneaking onto his face.

That weekend everyone was making plans for the upcoming weeks. They had the full week free of classes. The teachers said that they thought a break was necessary. The students were all very skeptical of this being that they had never gotten a break before. So, Draco and Hermione were sitting in the common room discussing options for the week because, obviously, they would spend the whole week together. Hermione already had an idea but was unsure of whether or not to propose it because knowing Draco, he'd object immediately. But, hey, it was worth a shot.

"Draco?" He had been sitting with his head in his hands, obviously deep in thought. Now he was looking at her with hope in his grey eyes. He was clearly hoping that he didn't have to think any longer because he had made it perfectly clear countless times that thinking was definitely not high on his priority list.

"Yeah?"

"I think I have an idea…"

Draco sat up quickly and leaned forward, "what is it?!"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe…you can come to my house for the week…the only problem is is that you'll be spending the week with muggles, no magic, and no talk of magic." She finished and braced herself for his explosion of reasons why that would never happen and what his house would do to him if they found out, but it never came. Instead, he sighed, slouched down and closed his eyes. Once again, to his dismay, deep in thought. Finally, after several minutes, he took a deep breath and replied. "I can handle that…"

The next day, Draco was upstairs sleeping in while everyone was down at breakfast. He was having a lovely dream about him and Hermione. And being that he's a teenage boy, you can only imagine what was going on. He was enjoying himself very much when he was rudely awakened by someone pounding on the portrait. He put his pillow over his head, wishing the pounding to stop and the dream to continue…no such luck. The pounding just kept coming, getting faster and louder, so finally he gave up and rolled out of bed grumbling about how it was just getting good.

He stomped to the door planning on telling the person just how rude they were for waking him up at this sick hour and how about how he was thoroughly enjoying a lovely dream. He opened the door and was about to begin rambling when he was met with a frantic blonde for the second time in a short while. He sighed, "What now Ella?" She pushed him inside roughly and started explaining herself.

"Ok, so I was sitting in breakfast, but Blaise and I were with the Gryffindors again today and we were just talking, right? Well, anyways, we were just sitting there chatting it up when none other than Miss Pansy Parkinson herself waltzes up to our table with a look on her face that made it look like she was about to be killed. She honestly looked like she was about to explode. Anyhow, she stopped in front of Hermione and put her hand on her shoulder. Then, she was all, "Oh. My. Gosh. Hermione, you'll never guess what I just found out!!! Follow me! You _have _to hear this!" Then, she grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her out of the hall. See, now I knew her plans, so obviously, I followed them. She pulled Hermione into an empty classroom and locked the door behind her. Alohamora didn't even work! Oh, and…"

But she didn't get to finish. As Draco had already pushed past her and was running down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him. He ran past the great hall, checking every empty classroom as he went. All empty… He then came to the only closed door and, stopping a second to catch his breath, put his ear up to the door to listen in.

"So, anyways, after that, I walked in on him making out Parvati Patil!!"

"NO WAY! Are you kidding me?!"

"Not at all. Every bit is true…"

"Wow… I never would have thought he would do this. I thought he was so much better than that. I must say, I'm kind of disappointed."

Now, this just plain confused him. She had just been told that he was cheating on her and she was 'kind of disappointed'?? '_What the bloody hell is going on here?...oh, forget it.. I'm goin in…' _The, he started banging on the door. "Hermione? Hermione! Are you in there?!" After a few seconds of banging the door opened and a smirking Pansy Parkinson gave him a small wink before brushing past him and disappearing down the hall. He watched her leave, then slowly turned back and looked in the room. Hermione was sitting, back to him, staring at her hands. He cautiously walked in and towards her. He finally reached her and lightly put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped when he touched her and spun around. But, her face was perfectly calm, not at all upset. "OH! Hey, Draco. When'd you wake up?"

"Just now…What were you doing talking to pansy?" Hermione stood up and faced him. Suddenly, her once blank expression turned to one of pain. Her smile slowly fading to a frown, her eyes glazing over.

"I just found out about a couple…soon to be separated," she said haughtily, folding her arms.

Draco took a step back; she was intimidating for a little person. "Uhhh, who's the lucky couple?" He asked, making a weak attempt at a joke…smiling awkwardly.

She stepped towards him, "Oh, you know the guy very well. Known him your whole life I'm sure."

Once again, Draco took a step back, he was sure to keep at least a few feet from her. He knew she was little, but he knew from experience her punches were hard. "So, does this guy have a name?"

"Oh, he's got a name…Does the name Eric Martinez ring a bell?" Draco let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

His buddy Eric had been going out with Millicent Bullstrode all year. They were a very, in Hermione's words 'meant-to-be' sort of couple, and supposedly now he had cheated on her. '_Oooo big deal... I care oh-so much._' He thought, rolling his eyes. "Uh, did Eric do something?" He asked, playing dumb.

"Oh he did something alright. He _cheated_, that's right, cheated on Millicent. They were SO meant-to-be, and then he has to run off and make out with Parvati Patil…._boys_…" Draco's eyes widened, "Hey now! There are _some_ good guys out there…you know… the gorgeous ones with the silky hair…piercing eyes…great bodies…you know, the ones that just make you melt…" Draco smirked.

Hermione smiled, "You're right. Where is Ron anyways?"

Draco's jaw dropped, "All right, I see how it is. I'll go find him for you…and I'll just go and find Parvati. I mean, if she split up Eric and Millicent, she's got to be good for something!" He said, walking towards the door.

Now it was Hermione's turn to drop her jaw. She ran up behind him and jumped on his back, "Oh no you don't!" Draco stumbled forward, and then leaned forward, his hands on his knees. "Easy there Mione, I'd like to have the ability to walk in the future…"

Hermione gasped, "JERK!" She slapped him upside the head and squealed as he pulled her around so she was on his front. He just smiled innocently.

She smiled back and spoke, "You are so lucky you're cute Draco Malfoy…"

Draco smirked, "Yeah, I know."

Hermione slid down his legs and stood, "You're so cocky…" She then went up on her tip toes, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then lowered herself to her own level, smiling as he laced his fingers with her own and led her back to the Great hall for breakfast.

AN: SOOO Sorry for the long wait everyone!!! I PROMISE it wont be as long next time.. I had basketball and stuff going on and I had absolutely NO free time! But now bball's done and now I have alllll day… so I'll be updating pretty often from now on… reviews are appreciated… much loveeeee

Marianne


	8. Rivalries Settled

The next day, Hermione woke up bright and early. Today was the day they were going to her house. The past night, she had stayed up late talking to Draco about the importance of not talking about magic. Being sure to emphasize how important it was not to use the words muggle, magic, wands, spells, curses, etc. Anything that might blow their cover. She was actually very surprised he was agreeing to all of this. She had known him since they were 11 and she had never thought him to be one to go a week without magic, with a mudblood, in the muggle world, with muggles everywhere he turned. He seemed like more of a guy who would rather shave his legs with a rusty cheese grater than have anything to do with anything non-magic. But, now it was 5 o'clock in the morning and she had roughly 4 hours before they had to leave, and it would take about 2 of those hours to wake up the lazy blonde. So she decided to start right now. Not to mention, he still had yet so pack! '_Slytherins_!' She thought rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

She jumped over her bags that she had piled at the bottom of the stairs, very risky she knew, but she was too excited to care, and flew up the stairs, two at a time.

She tapped on the door lightly, "Draaaaacooooooo?" She said in a sing-song voice, "Are you awake darling?" She knew he hated when she talked like this. He always said it reminded him of his mother. On more than one occasion when she had done this when he was half asleep, he had, to his embarrassment and her amusement, called her mom. She put her ear up to the door and listened carefully, smiling when she heard the rustling of sheets and the grumbling of a cranky teenager.

She knocked again, harder this time, "Draco Honey, it's time to wake up!" She jumped a bit when there was a light thud against the door, '_That's one…two to go…'_, and laughed out loud when she heard him inside, "GOWAY!"

She knocked again, "Wake up ya lazy bum!" A second thud against the door.

'_Two…one left…' _

"LEEMEELONE!" She shook her head. He was such a morning person. Again she knocked, this time as hard as she could.

"GO AWAY WOMAN!" A third thud.

'_Ok, no more…he has no more ammo._' She thought with a smile. She slowly opened the door and smiled smugly when she saw three pillows scattered around the door.

'_I knew it!' _

She looked up at his bed and just as she thought; saw Draco sprawled on his bed, tangled in his blankets, with no more pillows. Now all she had to do was get rid of the blanket and he'd definitely wake up. So she ran up and got a firm hold on the edge of the blanket. She took one last glance at him, tugged on the blankets with all her might. She knew what was coming so she ran to the furthest corner of the room and put the blanket over her head, giggling like she promised herself she never would. "WOMAN!!!!!" She covered her mouth hoping he wouldn't see her. Suddenly, she felt his arms around her and felt herself being lifted off the ground, then throw into the air. She let out a small scream when she felt herself hit the bed. Silence. She very slowly built up her courage and gripped the edge of the blanket. Carefully, she pulled the blanket down to her nose, just so she could see. She didn't see anyone. Even his broom was gone. She growled, _'He better not have flown away on me.' _She sat up quickly, the blanket falling to her waist.

She looked to her left, nothing, then to her right, nothing. Even behind her, nothing. '_What the--?_' She scooted to the end of the bed and let her legs hang over the edge. She huffed in frustration. This guy was always causing trouble. She threw her hands in the air, growling, and fell back on the bed, eyes closed. After a few seconds, she heard a soft chuckle. She opened her eyes and screamed when she saw Draco, floating above the bed on his broom, smiling down on her. She scrambled to get off the bed and far away as possible but it was too late. It was pretty perilous to even try. His broom was probably a bit faster than her on foot. He flew around then in front of her and jumped off his broom. She spun around and tried to run in the opposite direction. But, it was too late. He grabbed her around the waist and picked her, throwing her on the bed again. He put his hands on her hips, wiggling his finger threateningly. "Draco Malfoy, if you tickle me I swear I will kick you…" He just smirked at her.

"No you won't." She mimicked his smirk, "Try me." And try he did. He started to tickle her and after a few seconds of mad laughter from her, she kicked him hard in the shins. He jumped away howling in pain. "YOU ARE SO MEAN!" He said to her, pouting. She smirked, "I warned you." He stopped pouting and smiled, "Very true, however, that is no way to treat your darling boyfriend. The boyfriend any girl would like to have. You know, the hottest boy in Hogwarts? Yeah, that's what I thought."

Hermione just grinned at him, "I'm sorry…" she said, trying to not to laugh. He smiled at her and rolling his eyes, exited his room and started down the stairs. Hermione stayed put for a moment but her eyes widened and she jumped up when she heard a yell and a loud thud. She sprinted to the door and when she got to the door burst out laughing. She doubled over in laughter clinging to the doorframe so she wouldn't tumble down the stairs and join her graceful boyfriend in a heap at the bottom.

Draco had gotten down the stairs but obviously hadn't been watching where he was walking because he had tripped over the bags Hermione had left at the end. He stood up and brushed himself off, trying hard to keep his composure. Though he was finding it very difficult being that his girlfriend's doorframe support wasn't working and she was now sitting on the floor laughing, her arms over her stomach. He chuckled a bit at her, then picked up the bags and moved them aside. "At least I have the common sense to keep bags awaaayyyy from the stairs where there's the possibility of people tripping over them. I could've died just now. How would you live without me?! Especially if you were the one who killed me! It's hazardous I tell you!"

After a few failed attempts, she stood up and slowly made her way down the staircase. Even though it had been a few minutes since the incident, she still had quite the bad case of the giggles. Draco just looked at her sternly after which she cleared her throat and kept quiet. Draco just smiled and shook his head, then headed towards the stairs. Hermione watched in confusion, "Where do you think you're going?" Draco turned back around, "Would you like me to pack or do I just wear this?" He said, gesturing to his beautiful ensemble of boxers and a beater. Hermione snorted, "Yeah, that'll be a good first impression. I roll out of the fireplace in silk pants and a skimpy tank and I'm followed by a boy in boxers. My parents will LOVE you!" She said sarcastically. He laughed then continued up into the room, closing the door behind him.

Hermione shook her head slightly and stooped down and picked up the bags with the intention of moving them closer to the fireplace. However, she got distracted by the pillows strewn about the top few steps. She must have kicked them around and out the door when she was rolling on the floor dying in laughter. Thinking back, the picture of Draco on the floor in a tangle of arms, legs, and suitcases flashed through her mind sent her into another fit of laughter.

About 2 hours later, they were both dressed, packed, and ready to floo. Draco started heading towards the fireplace but stopped when Hermione grabbed his arm. "Wait, wait!" She said, "I can't just leave for a week without saying goodbye to Ron and Harry!" Draco's eyes flashed, "Since when do you talk to Potter?" Hermione slapped a hand to her forehead, "Bloody hell, I didn't tell you did I?" Draco shook his head. "Sheesh," she said quietly, most likely to herself. She then launched into the story of the goblet and the potions.

By the end of the story, Draco had plopped on the couch and was leaning back, his head against the cushions, staring at the ceiling. Hermione stopped talking, and he didn't respond. She moved closer to him and tapped him lightly, "Draco? You alive?" He nodded very slightly. She hesitated then stood up, "Well, I'm going to go say goodbye, try to be conscious when come back…" Then she backed up a few steps before turning around, and exiting the common room.

She then walked to Gryffindor Tower quickly, anxious to get back to her vegetable of a boyfriend. When she got to the portrait, with a quick "rumplestiltskin" she was in the familiar common room. Nothing had changed. It had the same plush chairs, with sleeping gryffindors curled up on them. _'Sleeping?! Still sleeping! Wow, they really need me back around here!' _With a smirk Hermione lifted her wand, swirled it in the air, and closed her eyes concentrating hard. Suddenly, the whole of Gryffindor tower was filled with the indignant screams of gryffindors who had just been doused with water from a bucket that had mysteriously appeared above their heads. Parvati Patil however had already been awake and was getting ready for her day. She was curling her hair in the bathroom and came running out only to burst into laughter at the sight of her soaking wet roommates. Then it hit her. '_HERMIONE'S BACK!!_'

Quickly running back into the bathroom, she dropped her curling iron into the nearest sink and sprinted out of the room, down the steps, and into the embrace of one of her best friends. "When'd you get back?" Hermione smiled, "Just now. By the way, I love the new look." Parvati gave her a look of confusion and conjured a mirror. The mirror dropped out of the air into her awaiting hand, and then was lifted up to her face. Parvati started to giggle at the sight. The entire left side of her head was filled with bouncy, shiny curls, and the right, was, well…poofy. Before she knew it, she was deep in conversation about Eric and Millicent. Parvati explained that Eric had told her they had broken up because he liked her, but when she realized that he had lied, she tracked him down, slapped him good, then found Millicent and explained the situation. Hermione was very proud of Parvati. She handled the situation very well, and even though Millicent and Eric were no longer together, at least Millicent was no longer dealing with a dishonest guy. But of course, he was a slytherin, couldn't have expected any more or less.

Over time, several wet Gryffindors had trudged into the common room, grouchy looks and glares firmly set on their faces. Seamus approached her, one of the few who found the situation amusing. During the summer his hair had grown, now long and curly, hanging in his eyes rather than short and spikey as it had been in their earlier years at the school. His usually curly hair was wet and hanging in his eyes. Pretty much all that was visible on him was the very bottom of his nose and his crooked grin. "Knew it was you," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Colin piped in, "you're the only person who ever did that. Always making sure we were up in time for breakfast." Hermione just smiled, remembering the fond memories where she was up several hours earlier than necessary and insisted that people keep her company. So she had gone to Dumbledore, telling him that people were waking up late, and he taught her a spell that would conjure a bucket of cold water over the heads of sleeping people in the caster's desired area. She had used it on several occasions and everyone knew it was her.

"Hermione!" A voice called out from her left. She turned to see a sopping wet Harry (A:N..yummy) walking up to her. "Hows about a hug?" He said, arms open. Hermione's eyes widened, "Oh no! No hugs!" And tried to back away from the approaching boy. And that probably would have worked, had it not been for the sopping wet redhead who was waiting behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and Harry ran up wrapping them around opposite. "HERMIONE SANDWICH!" They both screamed in unison. Hermione let out a strangled breath, "so immature." They'd done this since first year. Honestly, you'd think they'd have grown out of it by now. She had to say though, it'd been a long time since she'd been 'Hermione sandwich'ed', what with Harry and all. It was nice to have it back, even though she could just feel her ribs breaking. "Air…" she said lacking oxygen. They both immediately squeezed tighter before letting her go and backing away. Hermione looked down at herself, her once dry, perfect clothes were now wet and wrinkled. '_Lovely_.' She thought, rolling her eyes.

Then she remembered why she was there, "Oh yes, well good morning. But, I just came to say goodbye. I'm taking Draco to my house for the week. I love you all, and have a wonderful week off!" She then hugged Harry and Ron and turned to leave. "Wait!" A voice called out behind her. She turned around and saw Harry walking up to her. "Could you dry me off? And then, um, I would like to have a talk with …Draco." She gave him a huge smile, dried him off, and then dragged him towards where her boyfriend waited for her.

Finally, they reached the tower. "As one," she said, and then they entered. She released Harry and took a few steps forward scanning the room for Draco. He wasn't there. "Draco?" She called, and then she waited. No response. "Hmm, where did he run off to?" She took a few more steps forward until she was standing in the center of the large circular room. "DRACOOOO!!!" She called.

"Yes?" She heard from her right. She turned and frowned when she saw him stick his head out of his door, looking rather frazzled. "You did NOT go back to sleep!" She shrieked, advancing towards him. He held his hands up in defense, "Of course I didn't," he said innocently, "I was simply, shall we say, resting my eyelids. They were awfully heavy after I heard that you were friends with that Potter again," he said. He said the word potter as if it burned his tongue. He looked past her when he heard a throat cleared and sneered when he saw none other than Harry Potter come into view.

"What's _he_ doing here?"

"_He _came to talk to you. He doesn't want things to be so bad between you two."

"That's all well and good but I have better things to do then talk to … _that,_" He spat.

"Draco! Come on! Give him a chance here, it's not like he chose to do those things. We've been through this."

"Well what do you want me to do?! Invite him in for tea and crumpets?! No! You can't expect me just to forget what he's done to you…to all of us!"

Hermione was silent, thinking. She was about to reply, but she was interrupted by Harry.

"Look Malfoy, I don't want to be best friends here. I just don't want you to think I'm this terrible guy who beats his best friends as a pastime." Malfoy just sneered at him, but after looking at Hermione, and seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, took a deep breath and spoke.

"Fine, but I'm not about to sit while you ramble on for hours. Short explanations are fine. I already know the story anyways."

"Then, why do you refuse to accept that I'm not like that?"

"Because…You didn't see her Potter. If it was you who had to see your girlfriend carried into the hospital wing all bloodied and bruised wearing nothing but a cloak, only to hear that her "best friend" attempted to rape her, would you jump at the chance to become buddies? No, I didn't think so."

"Look Malfoy, I know what happened. I was there! I saw it! I just couldn't stop myself. Believe me; if I had the option to take back what I did, I would, no doubt. But, I can't, so we both need to accept that it happened and also that it's over. And it's most definitely not in my future plans to ever do it again." Draco stared for minute, and then took a deep breath. He walked down the steps and plopped on the couch, "Fine, talk." Harry approached him hesitantly, a part of him expecting him to whip out his wand and curse him to Australia. But he didn't, so he sat down and started to collect his thoughts. After a minute, he still could not decide exactly what he wanted to say or how to say it. Draco looked restless, impatient. "Well, are we just going to sit here and stare or are we actually going to try to accomplish something?"

Harry took a deep breath, "In a minute…Ok, well I don't exactly know where to start…Alright, I already know you are aware of the potion and who did it…"

"Who did it?? I don't know who did it…" Harry looked at Hermione whose eyes widened. "Oops," she mouthed, and then smiled awkwardly.

"Ok, well Pansy had Goyle do it. No one really knows why…but she was behind it."

Draco just stared into space, Ella's words echoing through his mind, _'She's going to tell Hermione…She's going to tell Hermione…' _Then his conscience intervened in his memories, _'Tell her you dolt! Before Pansy does! It's so much better for her to hear it from you instead of someone else.' _Draco argued back, '_I will, I will…just…later…' _His mind was probably about to retort back but he'll never know, because his mental argument was rudely interrupted by Harry. "Malfoy?"

"Whaa?...Oh, yeah, I kind of figured it was her." Then he totally zoned out, his mind wondering. Should he tell her? But, she'd get mad. Yes, well she'd get over it. It'd take much longer for her to get over it if she found out from someone else. That is if she got over it at all. But, what if I tell her, then pansy ends up not even telling her. There'd be no point whatsoever. It'd just be her getting mad at me for no good reason. Finally, he knew Harry was done rambling because he was just staring. So he thought it a good time to nod. So he did. "Good," Harry said, feeling accomplished. "I'm glad we settled this. Well, you two have fun this week. See you later." Then he left. When Draco heard the portrait shut, he let out a huge breath and slumped on the couch. "Ok, now explain to me, what did he say?" Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "I knew you weren't listening. You were staring into nothingness and your eyes were bulging out of your head." He laughed, "Well, can you blame me?"

"Yes, now, all he was saying was that he was really sorry for everything he did and he would sooner kill himself than to do it again." Draco thought to himself, 'Well, I guess he's alright then. I kind of hope he kills himself though.' "Why are you smirking at Draco Malfoy?"

He looked at her innocently, "Oh nothing…" Then he stood up, "Come on you lazy bum, we have to get going."

She fell back on the couch, "I don't want to now! Everyone's getting along finally and now we have to leave," she whined. Draco laughed at her, "You're such a baby."

She jumped up and put her hands on her hips, "AM NOT!" This just made him laugh even more, "Sure sure, what ever you say." She crossed her arms, "Jerk," she muttered.

He gasped, "What was that Hermione Ann Granger?"

She looked away, "Nothing, nothing at all." He advanced on her, "Somehow I don't believe you…" He said suspiciously.

Her head snapped back towards him, "Are you calling me a LIAR?!"

He smirked, "And what if I am?"

"Well, then I supposed I'll just have to go spend the week with Harry. I mean, he's just _such _a nice guy and you just call me names!"

Draco dropped his jaw, "CROSSING THE LINE!"

She laughed, "Did he say if he had plans? Maybe I should just spend the whole week in his dorm with him…then I wouldn't have to deal with your incessant name-calling!"

She laughed as he exploded, "WAY CROSSING THE LINE! YOU KNOW WHAT?! YOU ARE SO FAR _PAST_ THE LINE; YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE LINE! THE LINE IS A _DOT_ TO YOU!!" She burst into laughter. "And, _what_, pre tell is so funny?" He said, breathing heavily, still recovering from his outburst.

She regained her composure and in the calmest voice she could manage said, "Your face."

He froze and just stared for about 30 seconds. Then it came, "WHY YOU LITTLE--!" Hermione tried to get away but it was too late. Once again she had been tackled by her boyfriend and for the second time that day was being tickled mercilessly. She just laughed and laughed.

He had no idea how much he meant to her. They had been going out for near 5 months now and he had never once left her side. He was always there when she needed him, always knew how to make her smile, and would stand up for her even if it put himself in danger. Finally, he stopped tickling her and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He placed a light kiss on her forehead, muttered a spell causing their suitcases to float behind him, and headed towards the fireplace. And so, Hermione Ann Granger was off to introduce her parents to a man she was beginning to believe she was falling in love with.

A:N OMG! I am SO sorry it keeps taking me so long to update! You guys just need to remind me. Promise me that if it's more than a week before I update, email me like crazy and yell and yell until I do. Promise? Anyone who does gets a cookie… a beautiful cookie… a Draco Malfoy cookie! But that's just a cookie. If you review a lot…aw heck, I'll just give you Draco Malfoy!!!! After I'm done with him of course ;)

Much looooove

**Marianne**


	9. Author's Note

Alrighty… Here's the deal. Readers, if there are still any of you out there, I am so sorry I don't update anymore. One, I can't find the time, and two, I feel like no one's reading. I have a story plot and I'm really excited about it, so if you really really would like me to finish this, then review and let me know. If I get a lot of reviews, then I'll know you're out there and I'll update as soon as I can.. So yeah, REVIEW.. more than once if you think that's what it'll take.. or if you miss me that much.. Review to your heart's content. )


	10. Meeting the Grangers

Joel and Amy Granger sat fidgeting in their family room. Fingers strumming and feet tapping in anticipation of seeing their daughter for the first time in months. Hermione had also told them that there was someone very special in her life right now who she was just dying for them to meet. They both assumed it was a boyfriend. Another assumption had both made was that the boy was Harry. She had always had a small crush on him so when they heard her excited voice over the phone, that was immediately who they thought it was. But that was where they began to get confused. They had already met Harry. They had known him for years. She said she wanted them to 'meet' someone. So, they had no idea who it was.

Mr. Granger growled in frustration, "Who could it be? She's been with this man for several months and we still haven't the slightest idea who it is! Honestly, why doesn't this school have a yearbook?" Amy Granger chuckled at how easily her husband got frustrated. Although, it _had_ been a few months that they had been investigating. She couldn't really blame him.

"Relax, dear, they'll be here any minute now. Then we'll finally know for sure. I mean, if we haven't figured it out in these few months, I doubt we're about to in the next few minutes." Mr. Granger stood up and began pacing. "Let's see, we've gone through all the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. I highly doubt she'd be interested in a Hufflepuff. According to her, 'They just don't have any sense of adventure!' And she's always going on about the Slytherins and how they're so disrespectful and rude. Especially that Malfoy character. So there's no bloody way she's with a slytherin. So that completely rules them out. Good Lord, who else is there! Oh God, you don't think she's with a professor do you?"

His wife burst out laughing, "Honestly Joel, I know it's been awhile, but let's not get carried away! She does have morals you know…"

"I suppose you're right. But still…I'm getting desperate here!"

"Well let's think, we've met all of her friends and she's friends with every Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. So it can't be them because we know all of her friends. She wouldn't want us to meet someone who we have already met!" Mr. Granger stopped for a second and put his head in his hands. He shook his head and growled, then threw his hands up in the hair, "I DON'T KNOW!" Amy laughed and stood up. She walked up to her husband and put her hands on his shoulder.

"Here's an idea, how bout we think about something else and when they get here, we'll go from there." Joel's shoulders drooped as he took a deep breath.

"Oh okay… But when are they going to ..." But he was interrupted as large noise sounded through the room as two laughing teenager rolled into the living room in a cloud of soot.

Amy Granger looked at the tangle of arms and legs at her feet with a smile thinking about how wonderful he must be that Hermione accepted him while her husband began running thoughts through his head about what the boy did to her to make her accept him. He saw a young blonde stand up and help his daughter up and watched as they dusted themselves off still laughing. Well, maybe he wasn't all that bad. But wait, was that a green and silver tie around his neck…no way… it couldn't be…

"A slytherin!" The last two words in his train of thought were out loud and he got quite the reaction. How he hated when people laughed at him. Hermione ran up to her dad and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, daddy, a slytherin. I've gotten to know a few of them and they're really not all that bad." Mr. Granger's eyes widened, "What is this world coming to?" He plopped on the couch, "Well, alright, introduce us would you?" Hermione laughed, "Right right, minor detail."

She then ran up to her mom grabbed her wrist, directed her to the couch and motioned for her to sit. After her mother sat, she ran up to Draco who was standing quietly in the corner and grabbed his hand, intertwining his fingers with her own and dragged him so that they were standing in front of her parents.

"Mom, Daddy, this is Draco Malfoy." The next thing was actually rather comical. Both her parents' jaws dropped simultaneously. Hermione couldn't help but giggle. Her parents looked rather funny just sitting there on the couch, jaws dropped, eyes wide. Draco extended his hand hesitantly. "Nice to meet you," he said with an awkward smile. Mrs. Granger shook out of her shock quickly and stood up, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's very nice to meet you too Mr. Malfoy." He gave her a sweet smile then turned to Mr. Granger; he still had the same shocked expression plastered on his face. "W-wait a second…" Mr. Granger stuttered, "Malfoy…Draco Malfoy. The same Malfoy that had you crying for the past several years? The same Malfoy that called you that dreadful name? The same Malfoy who you called us claiming to want to kill!" Hermione laughed, "That's the one!" Draco looked at her seriously, "You wanted to kill me!"

"Of course!"

"Well, that's a bit harsh don't you think!" Draco exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

Hermione grabbed his wrists and put his arms to his sides, patted his head and smiled, "But did you not also want me dead?" Draco plopped onto a chair, defeated.

"I suppose you're right. It was kind of a mutual hatred wasn't it?" Hermione smiled at him. "Quite a switch, huh?" Draco returned the gesture and winked, "I like it better this way."

Hermione's parents stood by watching this whole tennis match of an argument smiling. Well, Mrs. Granger was smiling, seeing the obvious chemistry between the two. Mr. Granger had yet to wipe that dumb surprised look off his face. Hermione noticed her parents staring and laughed. She then smacked Draco on the shoulder and turned serious. "Shake my father's hand you jerk!" Draco had extended his hand a few minutes ago but had never gotten to shaking it due to his little argument with his girlfriend. Draco smiled sincerely, extended a hand, and shook her father's hand. "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Granger." Mr. Granger shook his head and replied, "You too, young man. Let's get you settled in, shall we?" He took one bag and headed to the stairs, Draco taking the other and following.

After everyone was unpacked and settled into their rooms for the week, they met up in the living room. Draco and Hermione sat down on the couch, Mr. Granger on the chair, and Mrs. Granger standing facing them all. "Alright!" She said, clapping her hands together, "Here's our plan. Draco, Hermione, you two are hereby kicked out of the house for the day. Now go, shoo! Your father and I have things to do!" She then grabbed both of their arms and shoved them out the door, shouting "HAVE FUN!" before slamming and locking the door. Draco and Hermione stared for a second before bursting out laughing. "Your mother is crazy." Hermione nodded and turned and started walking down the front walk. Draco didn't follow. When she had reached the sidewalk she turned around. "Well! Are you going to come with me or are you going to roam around the muggle world all by yourself?" Draco's eyes widened and he ran to her side, "Please don't leave me." Hermione chuckled and shook her head. "Well then let's go!" She then grabbed his hand and started down the sidewalk. But again, Draco didn't follow. She pulled on him as hard as she could, but her little muscles wouldn't do anything against his huge Quidditch muscles. "What now!" She shouted, exasperated.

Draco stared down at her, "we're walking?" Hermione shook her head, "Uh yah! What did you think we were going to do?" Draco shrugged, "I don't know, I thought we were going to go in one of those weird muggle contraptions…"

"You mean a car?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, in order to drive a car, you need a license. And I don't have one of those being that I spend my entire year out of this world and two months of summer isn't nearly enough time to take Drivers' Training. Then I'd have to drive to get all my hours and take my driver's test..."

But Draco cut her off, "Uh, Hermione, you lost me at license."

"Nevermind, but yes we're walking; now be a man and deal with it." And she started walking. Draco huffed but followed her reluctantly. "Where are we going anyway?" She looked up at him and smiled, "I haven't decided yet, so I'm pretty sure we're just going to walk until I see something that intrigues me." Draco rolled his eyes, "How long will that ta-" But he stopped talking because Hermione had stopped dead in her tracks and was staring forward with a mischievous grin on her face. "What's that look for?" he said warily. "Draco, darling, how much are you willing to do for me?" Draco smirked, "Depends on how much you're willing to do for me." She slapped him playfully upside the arm, "Draco! Come on, let's go there." Draco was about to ask where but then he followed her eyes to a large building that from the looks of it, all 3 floor of it were made entirely of glass windows. "What in God's name is that!" Draco said, completely lost as to what his girlfriend was going to make him do. "Oh, just a mall," she replied simply. "And that is?" She smiled and said one word that immediately made Draco want to run back to the Granger's house. "Shopping." But then he got to thinking. She had gone thru so much for him. She had nearly lost her two best friends just to be with him. And so much more beyond that. Come to think of it, she had done all of this for a bet, one that she didn't know about, mind you, but she hadn't hesitated to risk important things for him. That just brought all his problems back to the front of his mind. Should he tell her? But she'd be so mad. But it'd be better for her to hear from him than from someone else. Ugh, but now was NOT the time. She was worth a day of shopping, no doubt about it. With a kind smile he looked down at the petite Gryffindor and said, "I can handle that."

She squealed excitedly, grabbed his hand and dragged him off in the direction of the large building. "We can get you some muggle clothes so you fit in around hear instead of wearing your gaudy rich people clothes. This town is very down to earth. A very jeans and t shirt type of place. So your robes and suits just won't do at all." Draco stopped, forcing her to stop as well, "Wait wait, I thought we were shopping too. I'm a man. I don't shop." Hermione rolled her eyes and then smirked. She walked up to him and with a seductive smile on her face drew lazy circles around his chest, "Please Draco," she said in her best Pansy voice, "Do it for meeee," she whined. Draco lightly shoved her off laughing, "Sick, Hermione." She laughed too, intertwined her fingers with his, and started walking off towards their destination with him. Draco watched in confusion as she smiled at a muggle man in baggy jeans and a shirt that had the word "Billabong" plastered along the front in green letters. The strange muggle smiled in return and said "Hey" kindly. Draco looked at Hermione suspiciously, "You know him?" Hermione looked at him, "Nope, just being friendly." Draco didn't understand. He would never just smile at random people. Sneer maybe, but smile? No way. She was such a kind spirited girl. Where was the logic in doing that? There was none. She had just done it because it was the nice thing to do. She had always been such an amazing girl. He wondered how he had not seen it before. He continued to walk in the direction of the large glass building, his eyes never leaving the smiling face of the girl he was beginning to fall in love with.

So sorry it's been so long. It's been several months since I've had time to write. But I promise I will do everything in my power to continue. Reviews give me motivation people. So the more reviews I get, the more frequently I will update Thanks guys! Much love


	11. An Unsuspected Couple

Guess who's backkkk back back; back againnn 8 / Hey guysss! Yeah, I know. I totally came out of nowhere, didn't I? ) So over the past year that I haven't updated my dad cleared the computer so I lost the whole like 6 pages of chapter 11 I had already written. So now it's summer and I'm back to having no life so I'll most likely be updating on a semi-regular basis. I'll do my very best not to go another 11 months without an update. So I reread my story and I've been inspired. Haha. So now, even though I don't have chapter 11, I'll just start over. I hope you guys enjoy! Reviews are my favorite ;o) Peace out gangsterrssss.

Draco chuckled to himself as he was pulled into many different directions. Hermione seemed to have an unfortunate habit of choosing a store, heading towards it, and then abruptly changing her mind and abandoning said store for another. Luck was on her side, as she had his love; otherwise he would have become frustrated and stormed home long ago.

"Ohh! Draco!" squealed Hermione. "I haven't been to that store in ages. I desperately need some new clothes from there."

He looked down at her and followed her gaze to a store called 'Victoria's Secret.' He had never heard of this store, but by the looks of the outfits worn by the manikins in the windows, he wouldn't mind going in. Hermione looked up and saw her dazed boyfriend staring into the windows and automatically knew what he was thinking.

"Oh no, you don't, Mr. Malfoy. You, my dear, are going over there where you can buy clothes for yourself," she said, handing him money and crushing his dreams all at once.

"But I want to go in there!" He said childishly, pointing into the lingerie store.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and said, "Well too bad. I'm not really giving you a choice in the matter. Those stores are full of trashy ladies who only go in there to buy sexy clothes for boys to see. And when a boy like you goes in there, they're likely to ask you for your opinion on which looks better!"

Draco smirked, "A boy like me huh? And what exactly does that mean?"

Hermione replied without hesitation, "Hot ones. You knew what I meant. You were clearly fishing for compliments, now hush. I don't trust the girls in there, so go to that store over there," she pointed, "and find nice clothes." She started to enter the store but turned around and finished, "and do try to stray away from green and silver. Enjoy." She then winked, turned back around, and disappeared into the store, leaving her boyfriend desperately wanting to follow her.

Draco walked aimlessly through the store he had been ordered to go into. He laughed at himself. With anyone other than Hermione, he would have refused to follow her orders and done what he wanted, when he wanted. However, Hermione was different. He wanted nothing but to please her and to upset her was something he never wanted to do. Thinking about this brought him back to the decision of whether or not to tell her. What would happen if Pansy told her? That would be undeniably worse than if he told her himself. But then what would happen. "If he told her, and then it turned out that Pansy hadn't even planned on telling her in the first place? Then he would have run himself into unnecessary trouble. He thought deeply on this and again came to his usual conclusion. He would tell her…later.

So there he was, Draco Malfoy, roaming around a muggle clothing store, trying his hardest to find clothes he thought would most please Hermione Granger, his girlfriend. He shook his head laughing, '_Never thought I'd see the day,' _he thought to himself.

Well, it was official. He had absolutely no idea what to do. He didn't know how to shop for crying out loud. He was a Malfoy. Although he didn't know where they came from, his clothes had always been lain out for him. Draco never really did anything for himself now that he had come to think of it. He gave up. He saw a bench next to some strange looking rooms and sat there, trying to think of how he would explain this to Hermione when the time came. Surely, shopping for undergarments wouldn't take too long. Draco was leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed when a disgustingly cheerful voice pierced his reverie.

"Do you need some help sir?" He opened his eyes and saw a younger looking woman standing there smiling brightly at him.

Now, last year, this situation would be completely different. For one, he wouldn't even be in it because he would never be in the muggle world, let alone be shopping in it. And two, this young lady would be very appealing to the old Draco and he would surely turn on his boyish charm and work until she agreed to come home with him. But now, he knew the girl was attractive but to seduce her didn't even cross his mind. Hermione was always in his head, and no other girls even began to compare to her.

"…Sir? Are you alright?" Draco sat up, and arched his back, being that leaning against a stone wall is certainly all that comfortable for him.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just rather lost."

She smiled knowingly at him. "Oh I get this all the time. You were left alone to shop? Thought so," she said quickly, not waiting for a response. "Well my name is Angela, you can call me Angie, and I'll help you in any way possible. What exactly are you looking for?"

Draco stared, trying to take in all the information he had received in the past 6 seconds. The woman spoke a mile a minute. He took notice of the band on her left hand. '_That poor man._' Draco laughed and wondered how he had learned to understand her.

"Sir? What are you looking for?" Draco looked at her. That he understood. She seemed somewhat frustrated with him. He could see how she was upset though being that every time she spoke, Draco just stared.

"Well," Draco said uneasily, looking around at the copious amounts of clothing. "I'm not from around here and my girlfriend left me here to get some outfits but I honestly don't even know how to coordinate clothes."

Angie chuckled. He could tell she would be of use to him. She grabbed his wrist and headed towards the back left of the store. "Where are you taking me?" He asked her, as he bumped into a clothes rack, sending a few shirts falling to the ground.

"Well, sir, we have to start somewhere don't we? So I figure, we may as well work from the bottom up. We're going to find you a nice pair of jeans! And maybe, if we have time, a cleaner pair of dress slacks."

Draco just stared.

"Jeans?" He felt amazingly unintelligent asking what these things were. Not so much at first, but when Angie's jaw dropped, nearly to the floor, the feeling of pure stupidity really began to set in.

"Well, I can't really explain them," Angie said, looking a bit befuddled at how anyone could possibly live without knowing what jeans were. "I'll just show you. That's really much simpler."

She then walked away, no longer dragging him, leaving him to follow her through the maze of colorful articles of clothing. Finally, she stopped and immediately put her hands on her hips, and tilted her head to the side, her eyes scanning the back wall. The wall was full of tiny square holes with several blue articles inside. Angie proceeded to turn around and look at Draco, sizing him up from the waist down. She then approached the wall and scanned the labels with her fingers and after a triumphant "AHA!" pulled out a blue pair of pants.

Draco took them from her and felt the material. It was very new, much rougher than the silk he was so used to at home. Not rough to the point where it would seem uncomfortable, mind you, just different. While Draco was exploring the lengths of the jeans with his fingertips, Angie had grabbed several different pairs, or "different styles and shades!", as she had explained all too chipperly to him as he seemed perplexed as to why he would need more than one. She then ushered him to the strange rooms he had napped near and shoved him inside one, telling him to try those on.

He tried on a few before he found a good pair. The first were much too tight, and then the second seemed to balloon around his thighs and grow tighter towards the bottom. It was not a pretty sight. Even on Draco. He showed her the pair he liked and she got him a few more in different shades before they moved on to his top half. This was much easier in his opinion because after finding his size, all he had to do was pick out the ones he liked. He left the store with a few pairs of jeans, a few muscle tees, some nice shirts, and several of what Angie called "T-shirts".

Draco exited the store, all too excited to leave the closed quarters and the happy sales associate that was Angela. He dragged himself towards the pink lingerie store, silently praying to himself that he would have to go inside to find his Hermione. However, luck was not on Draco Malfoy's side today. She was sitting on a large bench outside the entrance, happily kicking her feet, which several pink and white bags and a small brown one sitting next to her. Draco, knowing what was in the larger bags but wondering about the smaller one, headed in her direction planning to grab it to investigate. But he wasn't quick enough, she had turned around and grabbed only the small bag before he could get it.

"Oh, you silly boy. You act as if I didn't know you were coming," she said haughtily, smirking. Draco's jaw dropped.

"You were facing the other direction!" Draco objected indignantly. Hermione laughed at him.

"You're funny. I saw you in checkout. I knew you'd be out in a few seconds and being the slimy slytherin you are, you'd wonder about the secret bag and try to get it. So I turned my back and listened very carefully. Not to mention, you wear way too much cologne. I could smell you coming a mile away."

Draco pouted, and said in an unhappy whine, "I like my cologne!"

Hermione giggled, and said, "Yes, well I do too. Don't lighten up on it. This way you can't sneak up on me." Draco smiled and shrugged but continued to eye the small brown bag in Hermione's protective grip. "Don't even think about it Mr. Malfoy, you're not getting this."

"But I would really like to know what's inside!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't pick up on that. But oh well, too bad for you. The contents of this bag are for me to know and you to find out," she finished, winking. Hermione then turned around, grabbed her remaining bags, and strutted out of the mall, not stopping to wait for her stubborn boyfriend. The wink had seriously piqued his curiosity and he had to admit, it had slightly turned him on. So he eagerly followed her back out onto the streets of muggle Britain anxious about what the rest of the day had in store.

Hermione walked lazily through the undergarment store, grabbing cute ones every so often. She honestly didn't know why she had come in here, she didn't truly need anything. She had just been thinking about her and Draco and was wondering if they were ready to move to the next step. If so, she wanted to look good. She didn't want him to have to look at her in her old pajamas. She had originally planned on buying something nice and alluring, but she was terribly shy when it came to purchasing such items. So she decided not to. Perhaps she would later. But she didn't want people to think she was a hussy or anything negative of the sort.

"Excuse me, Miss, is there anything specific you're looking for? You've been standing there biting your lip for near 5 minutes now." Hermione had a bad habit of chewing on her lip, not only to prevent herself from crying, always a failed attempt, but also when making hard decisions. Hermione tried to cover her blush to no avail. "Well dear, you seem to be debating a purchase. I frequently have younger customers in here to buy lingerie and they very often change their minds. Am I right in assuming you're one of those young ladies?"

Hermione mentally kicked herself for not being able to hide her problem better. "Yes ma'am. You're correct. See, my boyfriend and I have been together for near 5 months and well…I was thinking… ughh…" She couldn't even say it out loud. Especially to a complete stranger. The woman smiled, fully knowing what the rest of Hermione's sentence was, and walked up to her, putting her hand on her shoulders.

"Well, I'm here to help you overcome this shyness. I always have women your age in here for that reason. They never seem to be very excited. But, in my opinion, this is where your true power over your man in the relationship comes into play."

This woman was American through and through. And although Hermione usually kept her distance from Americans, she liked this one. The woman, who introduced herself as Maria, continued to explain that contrary to popular belief, women _did_ actually have power over men. They had the power of seduction. It was so easy to get men to do what you wanted with a simple wink, or sexy smile. And as she continued to explain, Hermione realized how right she really was. She thought back on how whispering in Draco's ear some nonsense that boys enjoy simply made his day. Suddenly the idea of buying lingerie didn't seem so bad. Maria then took her measurements and took her to wear her sizes were available. "Now," Maria began, "are there any specific colors that this boytoy of yours likes?" Hermione smiled lightly and nodded.

"He's got a weird thing for green; he likes black too, although not as much as green."

A large smile appeared on Maria's face and she grabbed Hermione's hand.

"I've got just the thing!" She then dragged Hermione around the corner with a tiny skip in her step. Clearly, this sort of thing made her day. She and Hermione went through many different types of lingerie and before too long, they had agreed on one. It was an emerald green silky nightgown. The slip was so sheer it was nearly completely transparent, something Draco was sure to enjoy. It came only to the very top of the thighs, and came with a small lacy black thong for underneath. The lining of the top was silver lace which complemented the green very nicely. When she tried it on, she felt very good about herself. She obviously had not shown Maria, but Maria trusted her judgment. And by the smile on her face when she came out of the dressing room, she could tell it fit well. Hermione had wanted to wear it all the time. It fit all her curves perfectly and made her seem almost as beautiful as Draco claimed she was.

Hermione thought hard about the decision she was making. And she had not a single doubt in her mind that this is who she wanted to be with. She just hoped he would still stay with her after this. According to word around the school, Draco had been with countless girls, so surely this wouldn't be a big deal to him. She could only pray that she would compare and that he wouldn't think any less of her for giving herself to him. She honestly was beginning to think that she was in love with him. If she ever tried to think of her life with no Draco in it, it simply broke her heart. Even worse was the though of Draco being in her life, but being his old cruel self, and no longer taking such good care of her. Hermione had thought this out the night before they had come home. Hermione's darling parents had a lot of trust in her. They weren't the kind of parents who absolutely forbade her to have sex. But, they drilled into her head that sex was a way of proving your love to someone, not a means of entertainment. Therefore, they wouldn't insist on being home at all times to prevent any physical contact. In fact, they had a date that night and would be leaving around 6, not returning until sometime in the middle of the night. Hermione got butterflies just thinking about it.

After Hermione told Maria that she had decided on that one and had paid for her undergarments and new surprise apparel, she began to head out, but was stopped.

"Um, Miss? I know your plans for the evening; however, I don't know that you are fully prepared. Might I suggest something?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure. What is it?" Maria then walked towards the back of the store and came back with a small brown bag. She quickly explained that inside was a box that contained means of 'protection' and that her boyfriend should know how to use one. Hermione, knowing that Draco would have no idea how to use muggle products, told Maria that Draco was a virgin too and had no idea, so after a brief explanation, Hermione was ushered out of the store with a smile, a wink, and a last call of "Have fun!"

­After Hermione and Draco left the mall, they walked hand-in-hand down the street with no particular place to go. Neither of them minded it at all; just being in the presence of the one they loved was enough. But then again, neither had ever told the other that they were in fact in love. Hermione knew that before she went through with what she planned for the night she had to find out if Draco was as taken with her as she was with him. If he didn't have the same, strong, unconditional feelings, then there was no way that she would put her plan into action. After thinking of this, Hermione decided that she had to find out for sure. She wouldn't want to find out the hard way. So she led Draco to a near park, then sat him down on a park bench, ready to have the talk she'd been waiting all her life to have with the man she loved, although she never thought this would be the man she had it with.

Hermione sat on the bench, staring thoughtfully at the young children on the merry-go-round and chuckling softly when they started to scream happily as their father turned it around faster yelling, "Hold on tight!" She thought back to days like that. She and her father weren't all that close, but the two of them did have their good times. The curly headed Gryffindor sat back against the wooden bench with a smile and closed her eyes, reveling on the memories. But she was suddenly smacked back to reality when Draco dropped her hand. She looked up at him with a pout.

"Why aren't you holding my hand?" He smiled at her and put his arm around her.

"I'd much rather do this and have all of you to myself instead of just one limb."

She laughed and leaned into him, breathing in his scent. It was a mixture of many different fragrances, none that she could pinpoint, but she loved every single one, because they made Draco. And she loved him. The thought made her smile, although her smile faltered slightly when she tried to put into words her feelings for him. Hermione had absolutely no idea how she was going to say this, or where she was going to start for that matter. But she decided she would just start talking. She had a very good way with words and her smooth tongue had never let her down before.

"Draco?" He pulled away slightly, loosening his grip on her shoulders, causing Hermione to frown a bit.

"Yes?" Hermione's face screwed up with concentration as she desperately tried to figure out where to start.

'_Come_ _on brain, don't let me down now_!' She thought. Then suddenly, it was there. "How long have we been together?" Draco tilted his head back slightly, staring into the clouds, which were slowly getting darker, and thought.

"Well, we never really made it official, but our first kiss in the common room was about, ohh, 4 months ago already," he finished with a smile. She looked up also, trying to decide if he was right…which he was (although it was a week or two more than 4). Now, the logic in her head told her that 4 months wasn't a long enough period of time to decide if you truly loved someone, but her heart told her otherwise. There was something between them, and it was something special. That goddamn 'opposites attract' theory that she had never believed to be true was proving itself to be far from false.

"And how long do you think that we'll be together?" She asked him, truly wanting to know. Hermione didn't know exactly how this tied in with her speech, but she'd find a way. Draco's smile fell, and Hermione got a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach; that was not a good sign. Draco shifted his position so he was facing her on the bench and put both of his hands in his lap.

"Well, I really don't know. It's up to you, because one thing I _do_ know is that I won't be ending this anytime soon. I don't see why I would do that to myself. I've never been so happy. So the length of our relationship lies in your hands. But if it were up to me, it would never end." Draco then leaned down, and placing one hand on Hermione's cheek, kissed her deeply. Hermione was at a loss for words; he had to love her. No one would want to be trapped forever in a relationship with one that he or she did not love. Their kiss however had to end because Hermione's lips were too busy smiling to continue their previous work. Draco pulled away from her, but only just. He kept his forehead against hers. He noticed her extremely large smile and couldn't help but reflect it. However, he became slightly uneasy when she didn't reply. His smile turned slowly into a frown, but hers didn't shrink in the least.

Hermione's mind was racing. There were a million thoughts racing through her head. She was going to be with Draco Malfoy forever. She was going to live with him, maybe even in Malfoy Manor, have his children, who were sure to be beautiful, and grow old with him. Soon it would be him on that playground, playing with _their _kids. She could see Draco smiling and laughing as he yelled, "Hold on tight," and pushing the merry-go-round a little faster. This was it. She was going to spend the rest of her life with the man who, just 5 months ago, she had hated with her entire being. And who now she loved with even more. Their kiss had ended a minute ago because Hermione couldn't help but smile. The life ahead of her was going to be amazing. With Draco in it, she couldn't see how it could be anything less. Hermione noticed Draco's smile falling until it was completely replaced with a frown. In her head, she was unhappy that he was unhappy, but his speech still had her smiling larger than she could ever remember.

Draco stared into her deep brown eyes; she still had not yet responded. This couldn't be good. What if he has scared her with his forever speech? But then why was she smiling? He needed a response.

"Hermione…now would be a really good time to-"

"I love you." She interrupted. The words came tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop it, but she wouldn't take it back. It was the truth. Draco's eyes widened.

"Wait…what?" Draco questioned, although he knew perfectly well what she had said. He just wanted to hear it again. He wanted to hear her beautiful voice say those words to him. Hermione's smile, if possible, grew even larger.

"I love you Draco Malfoy." Now it was Draco's turn to have a million thoughts racing through his head. She loved him? It couldn't be possible. It was too good to be true. The woman he loved loved him in return. She was his entire future. This was who he was going to be with. Blood no longer mattered. He didn't care that his children would be half-blooded and not the purebloods he and his family had always hoped for. None of that riff-raff mattered anymore. All that mattered to him was that they were hers and that they were together forever. And he couldn't ask for anything more.

"I love you too... God… Hermione, I love you!" Hermione let out a small squeal of delight and threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up around the waist and spun her around, holding onto her so tightly, it was as if he was scared if he let go, she would be taken away from him and the happiest moment of his life would end. He stopped spinning but still held her, not noticing that her feet were in mid-air, but neither of them cared. He held her in his arms and they both kept saying those three special words over and over again until they ran out of breath. Whether the loss of air was from speaking too much without a breath or from squeezing each other with all of their might, they didn't know, but they still found enough air in their lungs to share a kiss. Not just any ordinary kiss. This kiss was different. This kiss was one shared by two people who loved each other more than anything in the world. Draco loved her more than his broomstick, and Hermione loved him more than her books. And **that **was saying something. They pulled away, again leaving only their foreheads touching, both of them breathing deeply from their sudden outburst and smiling uncontrollably.

Hermione was the first to find her voice. "This is unbelievable. I was so scared you wouldn't feel the same way! Oh! But you do! You do!" She sounded like a sap right now and bookworm Hermione was inside of her screaming, but she didn't care. She was in love and nothing was going to ruin this moment. "And I'm not ending this either. It's you and me, Draco. We're in this together. I don't care how many people hate us for being together or how many people think we're completely off our rockers for being in love. This is it. This is where I want to be. In your arms…forever." She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him hard, and then finally taking a deep breath, lay her head on his chest. That had not gone at all how she had planned; it had gone so much better.

Draco wrapped his arms around the woman he loved and rested his head on hers. He was so in love with her. And no stupid skank of a slytherin was going to ruin this. He would straighten it out; he would have a talk with Pansy and bribe her. He could somehow convince her to keep it a secret. Hermione didn't have to find out about this, and she wouldn't. Not if he had anything to say about it. And if he absolutely had to, he would tell her, being sure to slip in how real this feeling was and how he was so glad that he made the bet because it led him to her. However, deep down, he knew she'd be heartbroken, so he prayed to Merlin that it wouldn't come down to that.

Hermione hated to leave this position, but glancing at her wristwatch, she noticed that it was nearly 6 o'clock and she wanted to see her parents off before her big night. "Draco, my love, we have to head back. My parents won't be worrying or anything, but they're leaving the house soon and I'd like to say goodnight." Draco grabbed her hand again, intertwining their fingers, and kissed it.

"Very well darling," he said in a charming voice, causing her to giggle. He then led her back towards her house, having no idea that the best day of his life was about to get so much better.

And so they were: Malfoy and Granger, Gryffindor and Slytherin …Pureblood and Mudblood. An unsuspected couple, yes, but if this wasn't love, it was only because it was something so much deeper.

YAY! All done! Unfortunately, it's not going to be this easy. Pansy Parkinson wants Draco Malfoy. And she intends to get him. And she doesn't care if she has to break a few hearts on the way. Who will Draco end up with? Will Hermione ever find out? Is this a happy ending? Well, you're just going to have to read to find out won't you? ) I expect reviews after this long awaited chapter! And I promise, **_cross my heart_**, that it won't be 11 months until next update. I'm way too excited about this now to stop here. So no worries. Won't be long! I say you'll have your next chapter in a few days. Oh, p.s. Next chapter – !Sex scene! – You've been warned. So don't go complaining if you're all squeamish about this kind of stuff. Anyways, I'm leaving now! Kay bye guys! Don't forget to review on your way out. Have a fabulous day!


	12. Promises

Hey guysss. Now didn't I tell you it wouldn't be long before I updated again? D Yay! Okay, well I know I mentioned this at the end of 11, but I'm going to do it again in case some of you nuts didn't read the author's note. SEX SCENE IN THIS CHAPTERRRR! It's not going to be extremely graphic just because I personally find that somewhat awkward. But it's still going to be there. So please, no complaints, because you've been warned. DOES HERMIONE FIND OUT IN THIS CHAPTER? DUN DUN DUNNNN. Read and find out ; Okayyy, enjoy! Woo, reviews!

&&&&

Draco and Hermione walked happily towards her house. Though Hermione was pleased to know that Draco loved her back, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at the same time. She had talked to her friends about their first times and not one had ever failed to mention the pain. But Hermione knew. She just knew that looking into Draco's grey stormy eyes would ease the pain. She never failed to lose herself in his deep orbs, and she knew that staring into those and hearing him say he loved her would be enough to pull her through. If she was going to do this with anyone, she wanted it to be him. She couldn't see herself doing this with Harry. Nor could she with Ron. There seemed to be a limit with them. When she gazed into their eyes, she could only see so much. They were deep and kind like Draco's, mind, but Draco's were a different sort of deep. A different sort of kind. Draco's were almost like an adventure. They were a brand new world she longed to explore. Anytime she looked into his eyes in their past years, they were overflowing with malice and hate. They were so hard, just daring her to try and read them. Now they were so soft and welcoming, and all she saw was love; unconditional love that was never there before. And it was that love that made all their foul memories of the past disappear. They were nothing to her now. All that mattered was the here and now. All that mattered was that he loved her now. Who cares about the past? It's the past. They're in the present. You've got to put your past behind you! Hermione smiled at her mental reference to one of her favorite old muggle movies, "The Lion King". It was very true. She had put her past behind her. And now, the enemy of her past was her future.

They walked up to the door of her house, exchanged one last kiss and entering the house. Hermione's dad was sitting on the couch holding a remote and nonchalantly switching the channel. He was wearing a black suit, his tie loosened, and his coat wrinkled. Hermione mother, on the other hand, was scrambling around the house in a red cocktail dress, searching desperately for her shoes and shouting at her lazy husband to get himself cleaned up.

"Yes, dear," he would lazily reply, not making a move. Hermione chuckled at her father and scurried off to assist her mother in any way she could. Draco, taking a deep breath, walked towards Joel Granger after being ordered to get him moving.

"You look nice," he said with a smirk. Mr. Granger looked over at him smiling.

"Thanks, took hours to get this look right." Draco laughed and then suddenly remembered something. His darling father had put many different charms on him to block the ministry from knowing whether or not he had used magic outside of school. He seemed deep in thought, and finally spoke.

"If I were to do something, could you promise not to tell Hermione?" Mr. Granger raised his eyebrow, first making Draco think he disapproved of the secrecy, but then Draco realized that his eyebrow was raised in interest.

"Will this something keep me from having to get up? Because if it does, then I'll be more than willing to keep it a secret." Draco smirked.

"Deal." He then pulled out his wand and waved it over Mr. Granger in a fashion similar to that of a security guard with a metal detector wand. Immediately after his wand had passed over Mr. Granger, his clothing smoothed, his hair slicked back, his tie tightened, and his shoes shone. Mr. Granger looked at himself, both shocked and impressed, and then looked back up at Draco.

"Very nice." Then Hermione and Mrs. Granger came down the stairs, Hermione looking rather frazzled causing Draco to assume she had to search under beds and deep in closets for the black high heeled shoes her mother now wore. Mrs. Granger walked into the room to find her husband, although in the same position, in a much neater state. She looked suspiciously at Draco, but then shrugged.

"Okay, I'm ready, and it seems you are too, although I don't know how you managed to fix yourself up so nicely in such a short time. Hermione give me a kiss," – She kissed her cheek – "Draco, take care of her, we'll be back when you wake up. Come on, Joel. We're running a bit late." She then walked out the door, not waiting for her husband. Draco laughed; he could see where Hermione got her attitude. Hermione seemed to have sensed this thought because she looked at him and smiled knowingly. She then approached her father and grabbed his arm.

"Up you go, father. You know how mom gets when she has to wait." Mr. Granger raised his eyebrows and stood up brushing himself off.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Be good you two." Hermione laughed quietly at the irony of what he had said.

"We will, daddy; you too." Her father chuckled.

"I'm getting old, don't forget. I don't have to strength to not be good. So trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Draco scrunched his nose at the image and Hermione laughed again.

"Shoo! Shoo! Don't make her wait." She then ushered her father out the door with a very rushed, "I love you. And tell mom I love her too. Goodnight." And shut the door right behind him. She took a deep breath, walked over to the couch and plopped onto the cushions. Draco sat next to her and put his arm around her.

"Anxious for them to leave?" He said, waggling his eyebrows and smirking at her. Draco always joked around like this and was waiting for Hermione to smack him in the arm. Hermione, however, decided to use this as her opportunity to use her 'feminine wiles,' as Marie had called them, and take control of the situation. She smiled at him and lifted her leg, resting it gently between his. 

"Maybe? Why do you ask?" Draco's eyes widened slightly but he quickly recovered and started to enjoy. He decided to take a risk and laid his hand on her thigh.

"Oh, just wondering. You seemed awfully excited to have the house to ourselves." Hermione smirked.

"Who says I'm not?" She then leaned in very slowly and gave Draco a painfully slow kiss, and after a minute pulled away, nibbling his lip. Draco moaned softly.

"Well, that was nice." Hermione smiled and kissed him again. This time, the kiss was much hungrier than before.

Their lips met, again and again, their tongues weaving an epic story of passion and a thirst for control. Draco reached up, running a hand through her soft curls, and thought of how he might soon be touching the ones in between her legs. He smirked inwardly and kissed her more deeply, tugging her closer to him.

A realization then struck him. He was growing quite excited about what this could mean, oh yes… but this was Hermione. Did she really want this? Did she really know what she was getting into?

Regretfully, Draco raised his hands to her shoulders and gently pushed her away. "Hermione," he breathed softly, raising a thumb to wipe a stray eyelash from her smooth cheek.

"Draco," she whispered back, leaning into another kiss. He resisted, however, and put a finger to her lips.

"I have to ask you what you are intending to happen, tonight," Draco intoned quietly, privately wondering when such nobility had been inspired in him. Previously, he had never cared for a girl's preference; he had taken things as far as he'd wanted them to go, provided his partner did not protest. And they never did.

Hermione blushed, and looked away. She might be ready to take this step, but she was still a bit shy about talking to him about it. Not wanting to seem immature or scared, she boldly raised her gaze to his, and said clearly, "I'm ready, Draco."

For a moment, Draco could not speak. He searched her face for insecurities, for doubtfulness, but found none. Sitting before him was a confident, accomplished witch; one who had successfully conquered his heart. He nodded. "Are you sure?"

Hermione took a deep breath, and nodded. "We may not stay together forever, Draco. But if I'm going to share this with someone, it's going to be you. You've respected my decisions all along; you've never pushed me or tried to con me into anything. This is not only an expression of my love, but also an expression of my gratitude, for being so considerate and willing to acquiesce to my requests. No one has ever made me feel quite like this before."

"I- I love you, Hermione," Draco said, pulling her forehead to his.

"And I you, Draco Malfoy," she said, smiling him and kissing him playfully on his top lip.

"You realize I have to hurt you?" Draco asked, looking at her unsurely, waiting for any sign of apprehension.

Hermione nodded resignedly. "I know. I trust you, Draco."

Draco nodded. "Perhaps we should… er… move somewhere more comfortable. I don't want your first time to be on an old tweed couch. Besides, I don't know if I know a good spell to get the blood out."

Draco had meant the last part to be a quip, but instantly realized how stupid it had been when Hermione's bottom lip quivered and she quickly bit it, looking sickeningly nervous.

"I'm sorry," Draco said sincerely, enfolding her in his arms and inwardly cursing his own idiocy. She nodded and rested her head against his chest.

"Promise you'll be gentle."

"I promise."

"Promise you'll love me forever."

"I promise."

"Promise you'll let me have all of you; mind, body, and soul."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Hermione smiled and looked up at him, her eyes shining with bright, restricted tears. Draco shook his head ever so slightly and kissed her eyes closed. "Now isn't a time for tears," he said, moving his lips to her eyebrows, her forehead, her nose, her chin, until he had covered every part of her face in his soft caresses of his lips.

"No, you're right," Hermione said, shaking her head and tenderly pushing him away. "You go on upstairs- to my bedroom. I'll be there in a moment."

Draco eyed her suspiciously for a moment. Apparently deciding she wasn't up to anything, Draco gave her a smile, turned, and retreated up the stairs. Hermione watched until he was out of sight, and then grabbed the bags she'd brought home. Sifting through one of the larger bags, Hermione found what she was looking for. She pulled out the small, brown paper bag Marie had given her, and took out a condom. With a second thought, she pulled out several. There was a good possibility it would take a few tries to get it on properly.

Oh gods. Get it on… get it… Hermione started laughing at her own mental pun, and then lifted a hand to her forehead. "I must be losing it," she muttered to herself, only to hear Draco shout from upstairs.

"You are losing it if you're sitting down there having conversations with yourself instead of coming up here to join me!" he called out playfully, from what sounded like the bathroom. Hermione rolled her eyes and rose to her feet. The boy was probably fixing his hair. Like that wouldn't be messed up again in no time.

"I'll be there in a second!" Hermione shouted to him, rushing into the downstairs washroom with one of the larger bags.

Locking the door, Hermione quickly pulled out her Slytherin apparel. Stripping down, she first slipped on the black thong, squirming uncomfortably as she adjusted it. Glad to be finished with that part, she unhooked her plain, white, cotton bra and strapped on the silver lacy one she'd picked up, tying the strings at the front together tightly to give her cleavage an extra boost. Satisfied that Draco would be pleased when he lifted her forest green slip over her head, she slid the loose, silky gown onto her body, and inspected her image in the mirror. The fabric clung to her slender waist and loosely cupped her full breasts, rising just high enough on her chest to cover her them. The gown ended at mid thigh; she turned around and saw the bottom portion of her arse exposed as she took a step forward, and smirked. This night might not be very pleasurable for her, considering the pain involved, but she had guaranteed that Draco would come back, begging for more.

Opening the door slowly, she peered around her sitting room. No one was in there, but she thought to herself that Draco could be hiding around a corner somewhere. "Draco!" she called, keeping the door closed to hide her appearance.

"Hurry!" he cried, almost desperately, from the upstairs bedroom. "Before I start stroking _myself_!"

"Draco!" Hermione shouted reprovingly, sounding appalled despite the smirk she had on her face. She shook her head, gathered her bags, and headed up the stairs.

She deposited all but the condoms in the bathroom, thinking it wouldn't be very sexy to show up in the doorway holding a handful of shopping bags. The condoms she slipped into her bra. She took a deep breath and slowly stepped towards her bedroom, almost scared of his reaction. What if he didn't think she was beautiful without her clothes on? What if he made fun of the ripples on the back of her thighs, or the great curve of her hips? She gasped audibly. What if he pinched her baby fat? A hand flew up to cover her mouth, as she stood there, wide eyed and frozen, in the hallway.

"Hermione?" Draco said questioningly, from inside the next room. "Are you there?"

"Draco," Hermione asked from outside, closing her eyes. "You think I'm… moderately attractive, don't you?"

From the bed, Draco rolled his eyes. Of course, he thought she was beautiful! He probably wouldn't still be with her, otherwise. Her intelligence and personality were lovely, yes, but it had been her plainly pretty features and newly grown body which had first peaked his interest. "I think you're beautiful, Hermione," he said softly. He briefly considered confessing that the mere thought of her, gloriously naked before him, had him as hard as a plank of wood, but reflected that saying as much might ruin the mood.

"You know, I'm not the stick I once was," Hermione said, leaning against the wall. She was still standing outside.

"Well, I haven't much interest in making love to a broomstick, so I might say that is a very good thing," Draco quipped, eliciting a small giggle from Hermione. "Come to me, Hermione," he said in a low voice, rising from the bed and standing expectantly.

He meant it. She could tell he meant it. He loved her, and nothing was going to change that; not even the extra padding on her bum or the softness of her middle.

Hermione came to the doorway, and placed both hands on the doorframe. Draco's jaw just about dropped to the floor; she really was beautiful. And she'd even worn his favorite colors!

"What do you think?" she asked, cocking her head to the side and raising her eyebrows.

"I think you look like a goddess," Draco said, stepping forward and taking her into her arms. "An awful, wonderful, breathtakingly beautiful and completely stunning goddess."

Hermione smiled and kissed him tenderly. "So I take it you like what you see, then," she said, smirking and kissing him again.

"Very much."

Draco surprised her then; in one swift movement, he hooked one arm behind the back of her knees, making her collapse, and caught her other half with his other arm. Lifting her with a surprising amount of strength, he moved to carry her to the large bed. Hermione gave a squeal of delight and wrapped her arms around his neck, engaging him in another kiss.

For once, Hermione was very, very glad that she was an only child. She'd got the largest room in the house, aside from her parents' bedroom, and hadn't had to share with anyone else. Considering the size of her room, she'd also been given a queen sized bed, which was apparently a very good thing, as she and Draco took up most of it. At least, the way he was moving around, they did.

Draco wasted no time getting down to business. He immediately tucked her body beneath his own and began applying slow, sweet kisses to her mouth and face. They carried on like this for awhile, until he sensed her relaxation. She gave a sigh as he began to slowly kiss down her neck, applying extra pressure and an occasional bite to the most sensitive areas of her smooth skin.

"Enjoying yourself?" he murmured into her skin.

"Very much," Hermione sighed, relishing the feeling of his lips against her skin.

"Sit up," Draco commanded her with a small smile, taking her into his arms as she complied. He reached behind her and ran his hands down her spine, along her waist, and down to her bottom. Scooping her up from underneath, he positioned her on his lap, making her straddle him there. With delicacy and precision, he fingered the smooth, green material separating their bodies. Looking into her eyes to receive her approving glance, he continued down to her thighs, where he began to slowly push back the fabric of the slip. Up, up, and over her head he slid it; he held it between his fingers for a few moments, kissed her, smirked, and dropped it to the floor beside the bed.

That familiar feeling of panic crept over Hermione as she waited for his reaction. His eyes traveled slowly down her body, taking in her curves appreciatively. She placed her hands over her stomach; she was sitting, which didn't seem to make a very attractive picture, if you asked her, but he shook his head and removed them. He didn't touch her yet; he understood her sensitivity. The girls he'd been with before had been horribly anorexic, pale things who seemed likely to break if he really had his way with them. Her? Her, he could enjoy.

"You have the most beautiful body I've ever seen," Draco whispered into her ear, moving her onto her back. "Don't ever let me hear you say otherwise. You are perfect to me."

"I'm not-" Hermione started to protest, but Draco placed a hand on her thigh and shook his head.

"To refute me would be an insult to my intelligence; are you saying I can't recognize a beautiful girl when I see one? I'm arrogant, Hermione, not blind."

Hermione smiled and kissed him again, holding his head in her hands for an extra moment. "I do love you."

"And I'm about to show you how much I love you."

Draco reached back to unclasp Hermione's bra, but a hand on his chest forestalled him.

"Wait," Hermione said, reaching under the wire and pulling out the condoms she'd stored in there. "I thought-"

Draco smiled and clasped his hand around hers, the one that was holding the little packages. "I've seen these, before," he said, smiling.

"You have?"

"Muggle girls who like to have a good time carry them, and will sometimes flash them when they're coming on to you- I'm familiar with their use. However, being a wizard, there is no purpose. We have much better methods of contraception."

"Oh, Draco," Hermione groaned. "Tell me you haven't…" she let the widening of her eyes and glance at the condoms say the rest for her.

"Hermione, I haven't so much as looked at a woman since I have been with you, and it was you who got me to overcome my hatred of all things muggle- you honestly think I would go sleep around with them?"

"I suppose not."

Draco smiled and shook his head, dropping the condoms to the floor next to the slip, and soon allowing Hermione's bra to join them in the same fashion.

Draco could not help but stare down at her full breasts longingly. He hoped he wasn't visibly salivating… they were beautiful. Hermione looked at him through her lashes, looking both shy and seductive at the same time. Draco brought one hand to rest on her right breast, and began applying his tongue to the other. Unintentionally, she raised her chest to meet his rough tongue and soft lips. This- this was heaven.

Draco saved the tiny black thong for last. After bringing her to the pitch of arousal through his ministrations to her breasts, he sat back to inspect his work. She was slightly breathless; her cheeks were flushed and she looked both excited and calm about what was soon to come. Fixing his steely eyes to her amber brown ones, he slowly began to move the black material down her legs, lifting one calf and sliding it off the end.

Half an hour ago, Hermione would have been whimpering and trying to cover herself from his intrusive gaze. He inspected every inch of her body, but the longing in his eyes was such that she was not afraid of what he thought. She knew he desired her.

He knew she desired him. She watched his every move with a sort of anticipation that brought a wave of heat to his lower regions and butterflies to his gut. She wanted him; dipping a hand between her legs, he could feel that she was ready for him. However, he was not done yet.

Moving down to nestle his blonde head in between her legs, he felt her jump slightly. He reached up and placed two warm hands on her hip bones, fastening her midsection and buttocks to the mattress as he used his nose and mouth to spread her nether lips. His tongue slid over her intimate flesh, dark red and eager for his touch.

She jerked as he reached her clit, giving it a hard lick and a little nip. It was as though lightening were shooting through her body, starting between her limbs and working its way up through her midsection and chest, all the way to her head. She dipped her head back and let out a loud moan, pleasing to Draco's ears.

Draco couldn't hold off much longer. His hard erection was straining against his pants, almost painfully so. He slowly crawled back up to Hermione and kissed her face. She sighed, too tired to bat him away, even though he still had her juices smeared across his lips. She opted to lick them off, which he apparently found quite enticing as he had soon thrown back the covers of her bed and placed her on the smooth sheets, positioning himself over her. He growled and kissed her again, sending another tingling bolt up her spine.

Draco reached down to the waistband of his red chiffon boxers, but Hermione stopped him.

"No, let me," she said quietly, pushing him forward a bit. Not that she would have admitted it out loud, but she wanted to get a good look at him before she impaled herself upon him.

Draco lifted his wand off the nightstand and performed two spells on himself; one for contraception, and the other to hold off on ejaculation. He would need to last for awhile, if he was going to do this gently.

Hermione stared wide-eyed as he applied the charms. Not that she had any basis for comparison, but he looked pretty decently sized to her. She reached out and glided one finger over the ridge of him, applying a soft kiss to the tip. Now it was his turn to stare, wide-eyed.

"Are you ready?" He asked, though he knew full well that she was.

Hermione nodded. "Draco?" she said quietly, as he began to position himself.

"Yes?"

"You should know that I have a very low pain tolerance."

Draco blinked at her for a moment, trying to work out what exactly that meant for him.

"Meaning… well, I'm probably going to yell at you to stop…"

"And what would you like me to do in that case?" Draco asked gently, touching the soft curl that had fallen upon her breast.

"Keep going," she whispered, refusing to make eye contact.

"Keep- are you sure?" Draco asked, astounded. Yes, she was a Gryffindor, but that was… that was an almost masochistic request, really. He'd had sex with virgins before; this was never a pleasant experience for them, but they'd always asked him to go slow and stop every once in awhile.

"I'm sure," Hermione said, nodding. "I want to get past the pain quickly… I just want to give myself to you, Draco."

Draco nodded, and kissed her. He kept her locked in that kiss, willing himself to swallow her scream and give her something to focus on as he pierced her thick barrier. He positioned himself at her entrance; her hips jerked needily as he rubbed the head of his shaft along her wet folds, lubricating himself a bit.

Draco waited for her to relax, and then began to penetrate her. He tried to go gently, but she still whimpered and clung to him, wrapping her hands around his arms and digging her nails into his skin. Draco closed his eyes, unwilling to look at the pain burning in her own, and pushed forward.

He had hardly lodged a third of himself within her when she panted "stop". He hesitated, but true to his word, continued to drive forward. She cried out and wrapped her legs around him, squeezing, jerking, and pushing as though to force him to remove himself from her tight vagina. He did, and looked intently down into her eyes.

"Do you want me to finish this or not?"

"Draco, it hurts so much, you don't understand-" she whimpered again, tears streaming down her face. She hadn't expected this. She had expected pain… but not… _this._

"Shhh," Draco whispered soothingly, resting his head against hers. "It'll be over soon, but you have to relax. You're tensing your whole body up; don't fight the pain, embrace it. It'll be over quickly, I promise."

Hermione nodded, swallowing, and gasping a bit. "Just… do it," she choked out, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

Draco slowly entered her again, getting as far in as he had before, and resting there for a second. He waited for her body to relax, and then, without enough warning for her to tense up again, withdrew and roughly plunged into her body. She screamed and grasped onto his shoulders, clinging to him.

"I love you, Hermione," Draco gasped, slowly rocking himself back and forth within her, willing pleasure to take the place of the pain. "I love you."

"Draco," she sobbed, wrapping her arms around his back, burying her head in his shoulders. "Draco… I love you… I-"

Slowly, the pain receded, and Hermione relaxed into his embrace. They rocked back and forth, rhythmically, taking their time to reach a climax. The only sounds for a long time were their whispered promises to each other; promises of love and loyalty, of dedication and pure, raw emotion.

&&&&

Hermione spent a long time curled up in Draco's arms, glad for the warmth and security of his embrace. She was glad she'd done this with him; it felt right. She knew that when the morning came, she wouldn't be feeling guilt. This had been everything she'd hoped for.

She snuggled deeper into his chest, and he smiled into her hair. He'd been tempted to fall asleep several times now, but knew that if her parents came home and found them like this, nothing good would come of it. Still, they weren't due home till quite late… maybe if he just closed his eyes for a second.

A second turned into ten minutes. Ten minutes turned into an hour. An hour turned into two.

Soon, both Draco and Hermione were out cold, oblivious to the clicking shut of the front door, and the wafting of Mrs. Granger's voice up the stairs.

"Did you see that awful thing Andrea Troyan was wearing tonight?" Mrs. Granger was saying to her husband.

"Mhmm," Her husband replied, noncommittally.

There was a short pause, and Mrs. Granger questioned suspiciously, "Didn't you think it was a tad revealing?"

"Yes, yes," Mr. Granger said, as the sound of the television being turned on came.

There was another pause, and then, "You liked it, didn't you?"

"Mmm? Yeah," Mr. Granger responded, clearly zoned out in front of the television.

"Why you-" Mrs. Granger's voice boomed, scaring both Draco and Hermione out of their peaceful slumber.

"Shite," Draco swore, scrambling to pull on his pants, as Hermione threw open her drawer and quickly pulled on a nightshirt.

"Draco!" She said in a hushed voice, causing him to turn around. She quickly pointed her wand at the clothing he was donning and transfigured them into night garments. "Hurry, go to your bed!"

Draco, being no fool, quickly did what he was told. He rushed as quietly as possible to his room down the hall, left his door cracked open to avoid the noise, and dove into bed. He pulled the covers up to his nose and closed his eyes, praying hard that Mrs. Granger was no expert on what a sleeping boy looked like.

Hermione hurriedly picked up the lingerie and condoms littering her floor, stuffed them inside her pillowcase, and threw herself into bed. She spelled the lights off from where she lay, just in time to hear her mother's footsteps coming down the hall. She closed her eyes and tried to look peaceful, and as innocent as she had been when her mother had left the house that night. She prayed her mother wouldn't notice the smell of sex on her bed linens- it was too late to mist the room with perfume now.

&&&&

Mrs. Granger smiled to herself as she gazed at Hermione's sleeping face, thinking to herself how lucky she was to have such a trustworthy daughter. She sat on the bed and tucked Hermione's hair behind her ear, bending down to kiss her on her forehead.

Her nose got closer to the comforter over her daughters shoulders, and alarm bells sounded in her head. This was not the way her daughter's room normally smelled. Something had changed.

Her forehead wrinkling in suspicion and anxiety, she brought the sheets up to her face and inhaled deeply. Her eyes widened in realization, and she looked back down at the closed eyes of her daughter.

Apparently, she wasn't as trustworthy as she seemed.

DUN DUN DUN. Kay well. To be quite honest, I'm very upset with my lack of reviews. So if you're out there, please let me know, because if I don't get reviews, then there's no motivation for me to continue, huh? Yeah. Well I know I have a million times more hits than reviews.. sooo that should change. And thanks to Gonnabefamous for the sex scene. That's just not my strongpoint. Yay herrr. Read her story. It's more amazing than anything in the world. I love her. Shes my best friend ) Kay. Lovelovelove. Byeeee! - Marianne


	13. The Aftermath

I know it's been like … years. But I've been busy, and this hasn't been my number one priority. I'm now going to school for massage therapy and working many many hours. But I have been getting back into fanfiction and as I get into stories and then they end abruptly, I get very upset. And then I realized that that was what I did to you guys! So I'm going to continue. I can't promise it'll be regular, but I'll do my best. Also, I updated my email address, so I'll actually GET reviews from you guys. So if I start to slack again, just yell at me and I'll get right back on the ball. Now, FINALLY, after an obscenely long time, here you are: the aftermath.

Hermione's mother walked slowly back to her bedroom, deep in thought. _Well, Hermione was of age. And the chemistry between the two was undeniable. She clearly liked him, and as for Draco's feelings for her? Oh, you could tell just by observing how he gazed at her. His feelings for her were truly strong. _She took a deep breath before entering the room, knowing that if she walked in looking troubled, she'd be bombarded with questions, and that was not something she was prepared for. So she shook herself out and walked in, looking as casual as possible.

"What's wrong?" Joel asked his wife as soon as he saw her pathetic attempt at nonchalance.  
_Shit. _"Um, nothing. I'm just trying to understand how that woman could possibly squeeze those into that dress!" _Please please pleeease be believeable. _

Victory. Her husband laughed hard, "Oh tell me about it. I mean, I'm not going to argue with her on her wardrobe choices, but honestly. Why even try? Especially when she knew there'd be dancing." He smiled lovingly at his wife and opened his arms to her. She smiled back and sat on the bed, leaning into him.

"Honey, you like Draco right?" Jane asked him.

"Yeah, he seems decent enough. And Hermione seems to really like him. And she's such a smart girl. I know, I know what you're going to say. 'But he was so terrible to her in school!' This may be true, love, but we've seen change before. I wasn't always as charming to you as I am now, you know." He said with a nudge, and a wink for the extra effect.

She scoffed at him, "Hah, right right. _Charming._ Well, I suppose you're right. Maybe just finally seeing our baby in what appears to be a serious relationship is somewhat scary to me. I'll just have to get used to the idea." _Although the idea of a relationship isn't what bothers me._ "I'm going to sleep. I love you dear."

"Right back at you, darling." Together, they slid down into bed and fell asleep. Well, at least he did. The sound of her husband's snores and the complex thoughts in her head kept her awake far longer than she would've preferred.

The following morning, Hermione woke up very unhappy. Although last night had been a beautiful experience and she wouldn't have had it any other way, now she was forced to deal with the pain. In addition to the cruel stabbing pains in her lower abdomen, she also had the mental conflict of whether or not to tell her mother. Hermione wasn't stupid. She knew that her mother had to have known. She was too smart, that was where Hermione got it. She knew that her daughter always ended up with a pillow over her face, tangled in blankets, not lying pin straight with the blankets to her chin like she had been. She took a deep breath, and let it all out in a huff. She opted for a shower to clear her head. She stood in the steam for a long time, letting the hot water run over her sore body.

After standing in the water until it was nearly cold, it finally came to her. All her life, her mother had told her that having sex was a really big deal, that she shouldn't ever do it unless she was more than 110% sure, and her first time should be with someone who she loved and could see herself marrying. Then she froze. _Could_ she see herself marrying Draco? Could she really imagine herself walking down the aisle in a magnificent white dress, her eyes fixed on the beautiful blonde man at the end? She thought…

Yes, yes she really could. She laughed to herself. _Hermione Malfoy._ Imagine that. Her entire Hogwarts career, she had always imagined herself one day being Hermione Weasley. She would join the big clan at the burrow and spend her life surrounded by friends. But now? Now, her life was headed in a totally different direction. Now she was headed down a path leading to what? Malfoy Manor? _Oh God._ She thought of all her 'good' times there and shuddered a bit. But whatever. At that point in time, Draco hadn't been able to protect her. But now she knew that he would. She wouldn't mind living there after she learned her way around. And, of course, after she did that, maybe children? _TIME TO STOP THINKING HERMIONE. _Little blonde children were a bit much for her to process for now. Plus her water was cold and her fingers were getting pruney. Yick.

Draco woke up a bit later then Hermione did. He, however, thought last night had gone pretty well. Although, he had taken her virginity, not a part of the bet, and he had also fallen in love with her. DEFINITELY not part of the bet. He shrugged off his worries. _She never needs to know._ Draco had given the plan a lot of thought. He was going to return to school with Hermione on his arm, and let things be normal. He would be with her, she with him. There would be no tension, no arguing, no nothing. Everything would be perfect. He could have Blaise help him talk to Pansy, who still had it in her head that he was tricking the poor Gryffindor, and all would be well! It shouldn't be too hard, right? Right! He got out of bed, heard her in the shower and decided to be brave. He waltzed down the stairs with all the confidence in the world and walked into the kitchen to find it filled with a positively beautiful scent. Breakfast? Back at the manor, his parents had the house elves be very careful to make sure no scents lingered. They wanted a crisp, cool scent to their house at all times. But here, the scent of the eggs, bacon, and sausages and coffee was allowed to waft through the house. It was lovely.

Joel Granger was sitting at the table, munching on bacon and sipping coffee. Today's newspaper was laid out in front of him and he was flipping through it. Draco raised an eyebrow at him, he must've been reading awfully fast. He was flipping the page about every five seconds, staring down, probably not seeing. _Poor guy must be awfully tired._ Draco slid into the seat across from him with a cheery, "Good morning!"

Mr. Granger jumped and looked up, "ah, good morning Draco. You're up pretty early. I thought our Hermione was the only one who got up with the sun."

Draco laughed, "No, no sir. I also have a tendency to wake up bright and early. I enjoy have the entire day lain out before me."

Joel nodded his approval, "Good, good. Coffee?" Draco scrunched his nose.

"I enjoy the smell in the morning, but I'm not really a coffee drinker. That's all Hermione." Mr. Granger laughed.

"That is true, that girl neeeeeds her coffee."

"You wouldn't believe how snippy she is before she gets her cup! She'll hardly say a word to me until she's gotten it and if I try to start a conversation, I get the death glare."

Mr. Granger smiled, "Ah, yes. The death glare. I've received it many-a-mornings." It was then that Mrs. Granger walked in with a tray filled with pancakes and eggs. She paused a bit when she saw Draco, an unreadable emotion passing over her features before she quickly regained her composure and set the tray on the table.

"Good morning, Draco," she said in a pleasant voice. "Did you sleep well?"

Draco, sensing nothing, smiled and said, "Yes, very well, thank you."

Mrs. Granger, who couldn't get the thought of this boy and her baby out of her head, tightened up a bit and let out a small breath, "Well! That's good." With that she turned and left the room. Once in the kitchen, she leaned against a counter and put her face in her hands, breathing deeply. She would _not_ be the mom who cried over this, she refused. But she could hardly help the lump forming in her throat. HER BABY! HAVING SEX! She let out a shaky breath. _Breathe, Jane, honestly. It was bound to happen. At least it was with a nice honest boy. At least it wasn't some drunken fling with a boy she won't remember. Oh dear lord, I hope she feels okay about it. I was so sore the next morning…. OH! _She quickly turned around and scurried to the cupboard containing the tea kettle. _Maybe she'll want tea! Yes, tea. That's a nice remedy for sore muscles….ugh. I hate this. _ Then Hermione walked in, and her mother dropped the kettle into the sink where she had been previously filling it with a loud clang.

Hermione walked up behind her quickly, "are you alright, mom?"

"Yes. Fine. Are you? I mean, do you feel okay?" She watched her daughter's face twist with a flurry of different emotions.

"Um, yeah, mom, I'm okay." _She totally knows. _"Are you okay? I mean, you're feeling alright? Your night went well? You and father had fun?" _Too many questions, Hermione, stop. _ Her mom looked just as uncomfortable as she did.

"Yes, we had a great time. There were some awful outfits, and some dresses much too small for the busty women trying to wear them, but you know. All in all, it was great. How about you? How was _your_ night?" She looked deep into her daughter's eyes, trying hard not to miss a beat. This was her chance. Hermione didn't miss her true meaning.

"It was wonderful mom. Draco is really a very sweet boy. I like him very much. You know that right?" Her mom picked up the discarded kettle and began filling it again.

"Yes, dear, I know. You trust him?"

"With everything in me, mum. He just needs someone to love him. And that's where I come in. He's never had a truly deep relationship. He's never been truly cared for. So I'm going to do that for him."

Her mother couldn't help but scoff, "Yeah, I bet you are." She winced a bit, after realizing her comment, and clumsily set the kettle on the stove.

"And _what_ is THAT supposed to mean?" But she couldn't help but smile.

"You know what I mean, honey," Jane began, finally dropping the charade, "as long as you're sure, I'm okay with it. It took me a lot of thinking, I didn't sleep much," she gestured towards her coffee cup, "but I can tell you two really care for each other. And it's your decision to make. But I am still your mother, so if you insist on being active, there are a few things I want to do." Hermione was ecstatic that her mother was so accepting and therefore willing to do whatever she wished.

She smiled, "Of course mother! Anything!" She simply couldn't believe her mother's acceptance. This must mean she really liked Draco as well, she smiled at the thought.

"Well, I know there are all kinds of maaaagical potions and what not for birth control, but will you please let me take you to see a doctor of some kind? To get you on birth control and make sure you're healthy." Hermione laughed.

"You're right mom, there are tons of magical potions, herbs, remedies, etc. for birth control. But I'm so glad you're okay with this, I'm quite willing to do anything you ask of me." The ladies both sighed in relief together. Hermione joined her mother in the lean against the counter, poured up a cup of tea, and was lost in thought until a shout from the dining room grabbed both their attentions. It was Draco.

"Hermione! I do hope you're drinking coffee in there so I get to see your _happy_ face when you come out."

"No, Draco, I'm actually drinking tea." She smirked, waiting for his response.

"That- uh – that'll wake you up right, won't it?" He sounded nervous.

She laughed right out loud, "I'll be nice, I promise."

Both ladies chuckled and headed towards the door. Hermione stopped abruptly and turned towards her mother.

"Mom. Please promise not to act funny around him. I can handle this, but my poor spoiled brat of a boyfriend probably doesn't know how to take anything but worship."

"Yes, dear, I know. He won't know I know until you tell him."

"And…"

"Neither will your father."

She smiled, "Thank you so much, mum. I really do love you. I'm very blessed to have a mother as kind and understanding as you are."

Jane blushed, "Oh stop, get out of here." She gave her a gentle shove towards the door and both women came out smiling.

Mr. Granger stood up, "Ah, here are our girls." He embraced his wife and gave her a light peck on the cheek. He then pulled out her chair and pushed it back in a bit when she'd sat down.

Hermione and Draco watched the entire exchange, Hermione smiling, having always loved watching her parents around each other; Draco watched also, but with a slight look of awe on his face. His parents had never been so close. They had married for the sake of money and making headlines. But these two? No, their love was written very clearly right across their faces. Draco hoped and prayed that he and his Hermione could be like that one day.

_I can't believe I'm thinking about marrying this girl. Our children would be half-blood. My parents would have my head! Ugh, and Pansy. What on earth would she do? What on earth will she do when we return to school?! She still thinks this is all a game. I have to tell her. Hermione needs to hear it from me before Pansy can – _

"DRACO!" Hermione smacked him in the arm.

"What? Oh, hah, I'm sorry. I just got lost in my head there for a second." He had the decency to turn a little pink and started picking sheepishly at his food. Mrs. Granger giggled.

"Yes, dear, we saw that. Is everything alright?"

Draco took a deep, calming breath, looked up at her confidently and placed his hand over Hermione's.

"Yes, Mrs. Granger, everything will be great…"


End file.
